SURE JVS. 
327 
The Short-Tailed or Earless Shrews, 
Genus Blarina. 
With the exception of the water-shrews, the only other members of the red- 
toothecl section of the family to which we shall allude are the so-called short-tailed 
and earless shrews, of North and Central America. These shrews are readily 
distinguished by their short tails and the truncation of the upper part of their ears ; 
some of them having the same number of teeth as the typical shrews, while in 
others the number is reduced to thirty. The variation in the size of the different 
species of this genus is nearly as marked as in the preceding one. 
The common short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) occurs in the Adirondack 
Mountains, near New York, and is remarkable for remaining active during the 
whole of the rigorous winters of these regions, having been observed running 
about on the snow when the thermometer indicated 20° below zero. This peculiar 
habit is correlated with equally marked peculiarities in the diet of this species, 
which frequents both the dense pine forests of the uncultivated districts, and the 
cleared tracts of the inhabited regions. This shrew, writes Dr. Merriam, “ seeks 
its food both by day and night; and, although the greater part of its life is doubt¬ 
less spent under ground, or at least under logs and leaves, and amongst the roots of 
trees and stumps, it occasionally makes excursions upon the surface, and I have met 
and secured many specimens in broad daylight. It subsists upon beech-nuts, insects, 
earthworms, slugs, sow-bugs, and mice, and can in no way be considered other than 
as a friend to the farmer.” 
The Water-Shrew. 
Genus Crossopus. 
The water-shrew (Crossopus fodious ) is the sole representative of a genus 
agreeing with some of the short-tailed shrews in possessing thirty teeth, but distin¬ 
guished by the small ears not being truncated, by the long tail, and also by the 
fringes of long hair on the under surface of the latter and on the feet. This shrew, 
as its name implies, is of thoroughly aquatic habits; the fringes of stiff hair on 
the tail and limbs being designed to afford aid in swimming. In length it measures 
about 3| inches, exclusive of the long tail. Owing to the circumstances, that while 
in most cases the under-parts of the body are white, while in others they partake 
more or less completely of the black hue of the back, it was formerly considered 
that there were two distinct species of water-shrews, although subsequent observa¬ 
tions have shown that such variations are merely individual. 
The water-shrew, although unknown in Ireland, is commonly, 
Habits 0 ^ 
but locally, distributed over England and the south of Scotland. It 
likewise occurs over a large area of continental Europe, from whence it extends 
eastwards into Asia as far as the Atlas range. In the water these graceful little 
creatures are as much at home as water-voles or beavers; and in clear streams they 
may not unfrequently be observed during the day diving or running along the 
