TllK SHREWS. 



597 



will also fight when wounded or when brought to bay. They use 

 their paws to strike with, but also bite when they get into close 

 (quarters. Their well-known habit of hugging is used chiefly in 

 carrying off live animals, as hogs. 



Order: INSECTIVORA. 



MOLES, SHREWS AND THEIR RELATIVES. 



This order comprises a number of mammals of small and me- 

 dium size. They differ from the rodents in always having two or 

 more incisors on each side of the upper and lower jaws; in the 

 presence of canines, and the sharp, triangular cusps of the molars. 

 The muzzle is usually narrow and pointed and most members of the 

 order live in burrows, although a few oriental species climb trees. 

 In the American species there are no external ears, the eyes are 

 rudimentary and the fur is very dense and soft. Two families are 

 represented in North America, the moles (Talpidae) and shrews 

 {Soricidae) . The broad fore foot of moles is the most obvious char- 

 acter which distinguishes them from the shrews. 



Family SORICIDAE. 



SHREV^S. 



This family contains a large number of species and genera and 

 is distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. The members 

 of the family are all small animals that live chiefly under ground. 

 Their food consists principally of insects and worms which are per- 

 ceived by the sense of smell. Hearing is also acute, but vision is 

 poor or lacking. 



The American species all belong to the subfamily Soricinae 

 which is characterized by red pigment on the crown of the teeth. 

 None of the American species exceed five inches in length. 



Genus Blarina Gray. 



Blarina Gray, Froc. Zool. Soc. London for 1887, p. 124, 1838. 



Dental formula.— I, C, ~l; Pm, ; M, = 30 or 32. 



Generic characters. — Ears small and hidden by the fur ; eyes 

 also small and rudimentary; fore feet slender as in the mice, not 

 broad like a mole's; tail shorter than the body without the head; 

 nose pointed. 



This genus is limited to America, a single species being known 



