258 The Mammals of Colorado 
days; and on "February 8th one was taken containing three 
young which would have been born in a month or six weeks." 
A female was also killed February 12th, which appeared to 
be nursing its last year's kittens, which was killed at the 
same time. 
ORDER INSECTIVORA 
This order contains various families of small mammals, 
without much external resemblance to one another, and 
united to one another chiefly by their inferior organization 
and by the absence of specialization shown in their structure. 
The greater number of these agree in having a pointed 
snout projecting considerably beyond the lower jaw; they 
have usually five toes provided with claws and are plantigrade 
or subplantigrade; their bodies are covered with soft fur or 
spines; their molars have projecting cusps and their canines 
are small and weak, the distinction between the incisors, 
canines, and premolars being generally not so well marked 
as in the other orders of mammals. 
Among the more important anatomical characters are the 
following : Clavicles present (in all Colorado forms) ; cerebral 
hemispheres smooth and not projecting backwards to conceal 
the cerebellum; testes abdominal or inguinal, not received 
into a scrotum; uterus two horned, and placenta discoidal and 
deciduate. 
Out of ten recognized families only two are represented in 
the Colorado fauna. 
Key of the Families and Genera 
A. Subterranean forms with stout bodies; limbs modified for 
digging, and short tails, less than ^ total length {Tal- 
pidcB). Scalops, p. 259 
B. Terrestrial or aquatic mouse-like forms, with long tails, at least 
\ total length {Soricidcs). 
a. Terrestrial ; feet without a fringe of long hairs. Sorex, p. 261 
