R0DE1VTIA—ARVICOLINAE——ARVICOLA PIHETORUM. 
545 
th an long ; less than half the length of the hind foot; covered with short close hairs ; entirely 
concealed under the fur. Antitragus nearly obsolete. Hind feet very small, and fore feet very 
large, the latter with its claws, nearly as long as the former without them. Middle fore claws 
longer than hind ones ; rudimentary thumb enveloped by a rather large blunt nail-like claw. 
Third finger longest; fourth and second successively shorter ; claw of fifth reaching to the base 
of the fourth claw. Hands broader than the feet. Hind feet very short, about two-thirds the 
length of the tail vertebrae ; the soles hairy for about the posterior third from heel, the hairs 
not reaching to the tubercles. The tail is very short; the vertebrae not so long as the head, 
tapering very slightly to near the tip; the hairs short, appressed, and with a short close pencil at 
the tip. 
The fur above is very short, soft, and compact, scarcely over a quarter of an inch long ; little 
shorter beneath ; there are no longer bristly hairs projecting beyond the fur. In the smothness 
and lustre of the fur, the cylindrical and elongated body, the short tail, and large and broad 
palms, there is a close resemblance to the larger American shrews. 
The color of this species appears to present some variations with season. The upper parts 
and sides are a rich and rather dark chestnut brown, minutely and almost inappreciably lined 
with black. This last shade is imparted not only by interspersed hairs entirely black, but by 
black extremities to most of the chestnut tipped hairs. The sides are rather lighter chestnut. 
The under parts are dark plumbeous, with a wash of hoary whitish gray, and in some specimens 
a faint trace of pale rufous. The lead color is that of the base of the fur, and shows most con¬ 
spicuously on the chin and throat, where the hair is very thin. The feet are light brown ; the 
tail dusky at the tip ; mixed brown and grayish above, and pale rufous below. 
Specimens are sometimes so dark above as scarcely to convey the impression of a rufous or 
chestnut tinge to the fur. 
The following table of measurements may serve to illustrate the difference between specimens 
before being skinned and after. 
Measurements. 
879. 
879. 
882. 
882. 
1224. 
1224. 
1229. 
1229. 
Fresh. 
Dry. 
Fresh. 
Dry. 
Fresh. 
Dry. 
Fresh. 
Dry. 
Head ____ 
1. 00 
1.18 
1. 10 
1. 00 
Head and body____ 
3. 00 
3.00 
3. 50 
3. 00 
3. 70 
3. 40 
3.10 
3. 50 
Tail, vertebrae ______ ___ 
1.00 
.85 
.50 
.60 
. 80 
.70 
.90 
.78 
with hairs __...____ 
1. 12 
1. 00 
.67 
.70 
. 90 
.80 
1. 00 
.92 
Hind foot.___ __ 
. 65 
. 60 
. 65 
. 60 
longest claw.. 
. 10 
. 11 
. 10 
. 10 
Fore foot_ _ _ _ 
. 45 
. 40 
.43 
.45 
longest claw.... 
. 11 
. 13 
. 14 
. 13 
. 22 
. 25 
. 24 
. 25 
Length of skull ____________ _ .... 
. 95 
1. 00 
. 94 
Width of skull.____________ __ 
. 58 
. 58 
. 60 
.55 
Proportions as 100 to .... 
61 
58 
59 
69 L 
