ORDER OE INSECTXVORA. 
513 
Genus Solenodon. — The Solenodons differ very little from, the 
Shrew Mice, except in their dentition. They have a long, bare, 
scaly tail, and inhabit the New World, that is, the islands of 
Hayti and Cuba. Only one species is known, the Solenodon 
paradoxal. 
Along with the Solenodons, it is convenient to place a little 
animal discovered in Japan about twenty years ago, and for which 
some authors have created a new genus. This is the Urstriche, 
whose principal characteristics, besides the general form of the 
Shrew Mouse, are an elongated, movable snout, and a long tufted 
tail. 
Genus Macroscelides. — Authorities separate this genus from the 
Fig. 224. — The Elephant Shrew (M. proboscideus). 
preceding. The Macroscelides, or, more familiarly, Elephant 
Shrews, are essentially leaping animals ; it is the Jerboa type 
transferred to the Xnsectivora. They have the posterior members 
much longer than the anterior ; hence their name, which, accord- 
ing to the Greek etymology, signifies large thighs (paKpos large, 
(TKe\o<s, thigh). Their eyes are more apparent than those of the 
Shrew Mice and Moles ; their ears are well developed, and their 
muzzle is prolonged into a trunk. The body is thick and short, 
the tail long, and scantily furnished with hair. They are very 
small, measuring about four inches when standing up. Naturally 
gentle and graceful, they soon gain the sympathy of Man, and 
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