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SOREX PALUSTRIS . — R i c h. 
American Marsh Shrew. 
PLATE CXXV.— Males. 
S. Mure musculo longior, cauda corporis fere longitudine, auriculis 
brevibus, pilosis, vellere absconditis, dorso canescente-nigro, ventro cinereo. 
CHABACTEES. 
Rather larger than the house mouse ; tail, nearly as long as the body ; short 
hairy ears, concealed by the fur; back, somewhat hoary black; belly, ash 
colour. 
SYNONYMES. 
Sorex Palustris. Rich., Zool. Jour., No. 12, April, 1828. 
“ American Marsh Shrew. F. B. A., p. 5. 
DESCEIPTION. 
Dental Formula. — Incisive \ ; Canine ~ ; Molar ^ = 30. 
The two posterior lateral incisors are smaller than the two anterior ones 
on the same side, and the latter are a little longer than the posterior lobes 
of the intermediary incisors ; all the lateral incisors have small lobes on 
their inner sides. Muzzle, tolerably long, and pointed ; upper lip, bordered 
with rigid hairs ; tips of posterior hairs reaching beyond the ears ; the 
extremity of the muzzle, naked and bi-lobed ; eyes, small but visible ; ear, 
short and concealed by the fur, its margins folded in ; a heart-shaped lobe 
covering the auditory opening, and a transverse fold above it. The upper 
margins of the ears are clothed with thick tufts of fur. Tail rounded, and 
covered with hair, terminated by a small pencil of hair at the tip ; feet, 
clothed with rather short adpressed hairs, the hairs on the sides of the toes 
being arranged somewhat indistinctly in a parallel manner. The fur 
resembles that of the mole in softness, closeness, and lustre. 
COLOUK. 
The tips of the teeth have a shining chesnut-brown tint ; the body is 
black above, with a slight hoary appearance when turned to the light ; on 
