MAMMALS—SORICINAE-SOREX FORSTERI. 
23 
in the side of the body, covered with hairs much shorter than elsewhere, indicating the position 
of the musk gland. 
The upper parts, generally, are of a bluish hoary, with a slight tinge of brown ; beneath, the 
tint is brownish gray, considerably paler than the back. The feet and lower surface of the tail 
are brownish white ; the upper surface of the latter like the back ; its extreme tip quite dusky. 
The fur, when examined closely, is seen to be of a clear plumbeous, tipped with the colors men¬ 
tioned ; but between their base and tips are three very narrow, nearly obsolete, rings of lighter, 
readily visible, where a portion has been lost. The teeth are white, with the extreme tips only 
light chestnut, differing greatly in this respect from the conspicuous coloration of S. taljooides. 
Dimensions of 622. (Specimen in alcohol .) 
Inches. 
Lines. 
Nose t>o occiput „ „ ^ - .. ____ _ 
10 
Nose to ear_____ 0 _ „_......_-_ 
8 
Nose to root of tail ________„_„. . ._ 
2 
9 
Tail from root to end of vertebrae._._......._ 
1 
8 
Tail from root to end of bairs . . . . ._ 
1 
8 
Ears height posteriorly •_„ _ _. .__ _ 
H 
Of 
6 
Arm, fore foot to end. of claws.-.___ 
Arm, longest claw __,. ______ _ 
Leg, hind foot from heel to end of claws_,_ 
Leg, longest claw__......._,___._...... 
0| 
The skull is too much broken to exhibit properly its shape. The dentition is as follows: 
2 —1~ izrl 5 ^- The hook at the base of the anterior upper incisor is about as large as the third 
lateral tooth; these lateral teeth diminish regularly and very gradually from the first to the 
fourth, or even the fifth, and are all much imbricated. The fifth is smallest, though larger than 
in some species. The lower anterior incisor has two lobes or obtuse serrations. 
This species resembles somewhat No. 813 (Sorex trowbridgii ) from Astoria ; it differs, how¬ 
ever, in a much smaller ear, smaller hands and feet, shorter tail, lighter color, &c. The skull 
is considerably broader in the muzzle. The anterior upper incisors are larger and more curved; 
the lateral teeth diminish gradually from the first to the nfth, instead of having the third ab¬ 
ruptly smaller than the second and considerably less than the fourth. The serrated lobes of the 
lower anterior incisor are larger. 
The present species agrees very well with the description of the Sorex forsteri , as given by Dr. 
Bachman, from New York, although not very well with the species of Richardson. Still the 
differences are not very tangible, and the name may properly be retained, for the present at least. 
It is uncertain whether Richardson’s specimen came from the Hudson’s Bay region, or from the 
Columbia—probably, however, from the former ; in which case, there is the more likelihood of 
its occurring in New York. 
