Insectivoba. MAMMALIA. Insectivoba. 
xxxi 
excepting some of the characteristic features which 
may render them distinguishable to the inquiring- 
reader. The specific characters of this Shrew are : 
body very slender and small ; ears rather large ; longest 
hairs on back about one and a half lines. Feet slen- 
der, but moderately long. Tubercles on the sole, large 
and distinct. Tail nearly as long as the head and 
body, well pencilled at the tip. I’liird upper premo- 
lar tooth above equal to the fourth. Premolars not 
imbricated. Anterior upper incisor with an inner 
lobe in contact with its fellow. Color above, light 
chestnut-brown; beneath, pale brownish or chestnut- 
white. Length mostly under two inches; tail one 
and ten twelfths. 
HAYDEN’S SHKEW {Sorex haydeni). — 'I'his re- 
sembles the S. personatus, excepting in size, the lat- 
ter being smaller. The hands are broader in the 
present species, and the tail is larger and thicker. It 
also bears a close resemblance to S. cooperi. Its 
colors are light, but not bright, grayish, chestnut- 
brown above ; beneath, lighter yellowish-white, with 
a tinge of brown. The tail is brown above, dusky at 
the tip and beneath, with the feet light gray. The tip 
of the teeth are pitchy-chestnut. The teeth are thirty- 
two in number. The specific characters are : Head 
less than eight tenths of an inch, acutely attenuated. 
Body about l.-i’ifo- of an inch ; vertebrae of tail, l.-j^oV 
Tail very thick and swollen ; hind feet, four tenths of 
an inch. 
THE MASKED SHREW [Sorex personatus). — 'I’his 
species was described by Bachman formerly as the ti. 
longirostris, and is continued as such in Audubon and 
Bachman’s N. A. Quadrupeds. It is nearly the small- 
est of the group. The specific name of this species 
would seem to indicate some special characteristic, 
but we cannot find any allusion to the matter in the 
various descriptions published. This is probably one 
of the too frequent cases of attaching meaningless 
names. If a creature has a remarkable specific 
character, it should by all means be i-ecognized, by 
adoption of its name ; but there, is little sense in call- 
ing an animal masked, when their are no signs of 
such a character present. The color above and on 
its sides is a light chestnut-brown ; beneath, dull 
white, with a tinge of chestnut. Length, one and 
three quarter inches ; tail, one and one twelfth. This 
species is considered to be closely allied to S. platyr- 
rhinus, though smaller, fi’he tail and hind feet are 
shorter in proportion. Its habitat is throughout the 
Middle States. 
HAY’S SHREW [Sorex hoyi). — This is from Wis- 
consin, and measures about the same as the preced- 
ing. Its color above is olive chestnut-brown, with a 
little hoariness. It is described by Baird as very 
small and slender, with prominent ears ; very small 
feet, the posterior five eighths the length of the skull. 
Tail about the length of the body, exclusive of the 
head. Only four lateral upper teeth. All the teeth 
large and dark colored. Anterior upper incisor with 
very prominent, serrated lobe on the inner face, in 
contact with its opposite. 
THOMPSON’S SHREW (S. thompsoni). — “ The small- 
est species,” says Prof. Baird, “ that has come under my 
observation, one specimen weighing less than twenty- 
two grains. It is readily distinguished, by its olive- 
brown color and small number of lateral incisors, as 
well as diminutive feet, from S. personatus and S. 
cooperi. In form, it resembles S. hoyi, but is much 
smaller in size and proportions, much darker in color, 
has larger ears, less dentations on the lower anterior 
incisors, &c. It is named after the late Zadock 
Thompson of Vermont. 
Blaeina. 
This genus includes the short-tailed Shrews, and a 
prominent characteristic is the apparent absence of 
ears. It is considered a very natural group, and one 
differing entirely from any other in the world. The 
Blarinas are divisible into two sections : A. with five 
premolars in upper jaw, and B. with four upper pre- 
molars. 
THE MOLE-LIKE BLAEINA [Blarina talpoides), 
called, also, the Oaroi.ina Shrew. — This is one of the 
section A., having thirty-two teeth, including five 
premolars in upper jaw. This is a large species, 
measuring three and a half to four inches, with a tail 
four tenths of an inch. Its color is a bright lustrous 
iron-gray over the surface, the base being of a slate 
color. The nose and feet are flesh colored. The nests 
of this Mole are about a foot under ground, com- 
posed of fibres of roots and grasses. They feed on 
worms, larvre of insects, etc. It is the most abun- 
dant of the North American Shrews, and is found 
everywhere in the Northern States, reaching south 
as far as Georgia. 
THE SHORT-TAILED SHREW [Blarina brevicauda). 
This is the largest of all the North American Shrews. 
The prevailing color is a blackish-plumbeous on the 
back and sides, dark plumbeous beneath. There is 
sometimes a faint purplish gloss on the fur above. 
The head is very broad and massive, rather obtuse. 
Tail, with its hairs, about as long as its head. 
De Kay says he has seen specimens from New Jer- 
sey, and has heard of its capture in Albany. It has 
been taken in Connecticut, also. From a specimen 
taken in Queen’s Co., N. Y., the following description 
is given by De Kay : “ Eostrum robust, broad ; whis- 
kers numerous, long, radiating ; those along the margin 
of the mouth, 0.5 long. A projecting fleshy septum 
just anterior to the two upper incisors, and extending 
nearly between them. Fur thick, moderately long, 
dark brown, very sparse around the region of the 
mouth and on the extremities, rather allowing the 
skin beneath to be seen ; rather more dense on the 
tail. Nose dark brown, bifid. Eyes, with a small 
naked space around them, 0.55 distant from the nose. 
Auditory hole large, transverse, narrow beneath, 
naked, with an oblique septum across the upper half, 
and a small lobe near the middle, about 0.6 posterior 
to the eye. Fore-feet 0.5 long ; three toes subequul, 
longest; outer slightly longer than inner. Tuber- 
cles on the palm, six — -two in a line behind the inner 
toe, and two behind the outer, the fifth between the 
base of the second and third toes (counting from 
the outside), and the sixth is placed at the base of 
the fourth toe. On the hind feet the tubercles are 
