384 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
strongly of direct Marsupial relations. The relationship of the Insectivora to the Rodentia can 
hardly be regarded as a true affinity, although the analogies between different types in the two orders 
are among the most striking phenomena of the kind with which we are acquainted. The type of the 
Mice and Rats is reproduced by the Shrews, the Squirrels by the Bangsrings, the Porcupines by the 
Hedgehogs and Tanrecs, the Jerboas by the Jumping Shrews, and the Ondatra by the Desmans ; 
whilst even the highly specialised Moles are reflected among the Rodents by the various species of 
Mole-Rats. . But none of these resemblances indicate affinity, and the Rodent type may be regarded 
as differentiated from the old probably Marsupial ancestral forms quite independently of the 
W. S. Dallas. 
Cassell Petter & Galpin, Belle Sauvage Works, London, E.G 
