TITE STIORT-TAII.KI) OR MOl.K SlTlfKW. 



ui)ward in the middle. The middle upper incisor teeth are large, 

 with a strong downward process and large posterior keel. The other 

 incisors, and also the canines, are small and confusion sometimes 

 arises from the fact that the incisors are supposed to be two above 

 and two below. 



Range. — In Indiana the typical subspecies is found throughout 

 the state, except in the southwestern portion, where it is replaced by 



c 



Fig. IC— Skull of Blarina hrrvicauda, enlarged : a, dorsal view ; b, ventral view ; 

 c, lateral view. After Morriam, N. Am. Fauna No. 10, Bureau of the Biol. Sur., 

 U. S. Dept. of Agri. 



the subspecies carolinensis. Probably one form or the other occurs 

 in every township in the State. The range of a species, as a whole, 

 extends from Missouri to Manitoba and east to the Atlantic. 



Habits. — One of the best accounts of the habits of this species 

 was published by Dr. John T. Plummer, of Richmond, Indiana, 

 as early as 1844.* His observations were made on captive animals. 

 The following are the most important points in his observations : 

 One specimen was an adept in catching flies. It was fed some 



* Amer. .Tourn. Sci. and Arts, Vol. 46, pp. 245-249. 



