THE GOLDEN MOLES. 
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and that of the lower surface yellowish ; and the coat consists of two kinds of hairs, namely, an inner 
coat of very hue short silky hairs, through which longer hairs of a very peculiar structure project. These 
long hairs are very thin at the bulb, and increase very gradually in thickness for about one-third of 
their length, when they suddenly contract a little, and then expand into a flat lance-shaped blade, 
which terminates in a very fine point. This coarser fur covers the whole body, the thick root of the 
tail, and the upper part of the limbs ; the rest of the tail, the under side of the muzzle, and the upper 
surface of the feet are clothed with short, close hairs. The ears are of moderate size, the eyes very 
small, and the toes on all the feet five in number, armed with small sharp claws, and without webs, 
but the second and third toes on the hind feet are united as far as the end of the first phalanx. 
The most remarkable peculiarity of the animal is its tail, which presents a most unusual develop 
ment for an Insectivorous Mammal. Professor Allman says, “ It is so thick at its base that the trunk 
seems uninterruptedly continued into it ; but it soon becomes laterally compressed, and then grows 
gradually thinner and narrower towards the tip Its lower edge is rounded, and its 
upper is continued into a membranous crest about one-eighth of an inch in height, and clothed with 
the same short, stiff, appressed hairs ” as the rest of the tail. 
This great development of the tail might of itself convince us that this organ is of great service to 
its owner, and such, from the account of the habits of the animal given by its discoverer, is evidently 
the case. M. Du Chaillu says : — “ This extraordinary animal is found in the mountains of the interior, 
or in the hilly country explored by me north and south of the equator. It is found along the water- 
courses of limpid and clear streams, where fish are abundant. It hides under rocks along these streams, 
lying in wait for fish. It swims through the water with a rapidity which astonished me ; before the 
fish has time to move it is caught. On account of the rapidity of its movements, I have given it the 
specific name of velox. The animal returns to land with its prey almost as rapidly as it started from 
its place of concealment. The great motive power of the animal in the water seems to be in its tail.” 
CHAPTER II. 
GOLDEN MOLES —MOLES — DESMANS — SHREWS. 
General Description of the Golden Mole Family — Their Points of difference from the True Mole —The Cape Golden Mole 
Its Varieties — The Family of Tine Moles — The Common Mole — Described — Distribution — Teeth — Fore-limbs Breast- 
bone — Not a Miserable Creature — Extreme Voracity — Diet — His Blindness a Popular Error — A Thirsty Soul — His 
Fortress— The Roads leading to it— Speed of a Frightened Mole— “Mole -hills”— A- wooing— His Strong Family Affec- 
tions -His Persecution a Doubtful Benefit — The Blind Mole — Several Allied Species — The Star-nosed Mole Its 
Snout — The Common Shrew Mole — Other Sj>ecies in the United States — The Family of Desmans — The Desman — Its 
Otter-like Habits— Its Trunk— The Pyrenean Desman— The Hairy-tailed Mole-Shrew— The Family of Shrews— 
The Common Shrew — Or Shrew-Mouse — Superstitions about it — Dekay’s Shrew — The Garden Shrew — The 
Tuscan Shrew— The Rat-tailed Shrew -The Water Shrew— Essentially Aquatic -Its Prey— Allied Species— 
The Tibetan Water Shrew— The Tailless Shrew— Concluding Remarks— Classification— Distribution— Affinities. 
FAMILY VII. — CHRYSOCIILO RIDiE, OR GOLDEN MOLES. 
A few species of Insectivora, which, in their general form and habits more or less resemble oui 
Common Moles, but differ from them in several important points of structure, form the family of the 
Chrysocliloridffi, or Golden Moles. They are 
peculiar to the southern and eastern parts of 
Africa, ranging from the Cape to the Mozam- 
bique Coast. 
These animals have a cylindrical body, 
skull of golden clothed with a fine, close fur, usually exhibit- 
mole. (Nat. Sue.) a metallic lustre which has been compared 
to that presented by the feathers of some of the most brilliant 
birds. They have a conical head, short limbs, a very short, 
almost rudimentary tail, minute eyes, actually covered by the 
skin, and no external cars. From the form of the body, the dentition of golden mole. (Enlarged.) 
texture of the hair, and the structure of the limbs, they are as 
evidently organised for burrowing underground as the Moles, with which they have generally been 
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