608 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



tion he kindly had the skull removed and re-examined the speci- 

 men and states that it is an old Sorex longirostris. 



Habits. — Nothing is known concerning the habits peculiar to 

 this species. It is insectivorous, like all of the other shrews, and 

 seems to live both in swamps and on high ground. The rarity of 



c 



Fig. 19. — Skull and teeth of Sorex longirostris : a, lateral view of skull ; b, dorsal 

 view of skull ; c, lateral view of the anterior teeth, greatly enlarged. After 

 Merriam, N. Am. Fauna No. 10, Bureau of the Biol. Sur., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 



this and the preceding species in Indiana add to their interest. 

 The fact that three species were described by Duvernoy from the 

 lower part of the Wabash VaUey in this State, and that we are not 

 now positive as to the identity of any of these species, also lends 

 interest and makes it very desirable to secure as many specimens 

 as possible. 



Family TALPIDAE. 



MOLES. 



The moles are distributed throughout most of the northern hem- 

 isphere. Most of them exceed the shrews in size, but all resemble 

 them in th(; form of the head, the character of the fur, the rudi- 

 mentary eyes and external ears, and the triangular cusps of the 

 molar teeth. 



