This little beast, that has given rise to so much discussion among zoologists, and received so many names, is only a little larger than our common Stoat, measuring about nine inches in length, exclusive of the powerful tail, which is of about the same length. In its appearance it very much reminds one of a miniature Otter, from which, however, it differs considerably in the form of the head, which terminates in a broad flattened muzzle, having its sides furnished with a most luxuriant crop of stiff bristle-like whiskers. The hair of the upper part of the body and limbs is brown and soft, although rather coarse and that of the lower surface yellowish; and the coat consists of two kinds of hairs, namely, an inner coat of very fine short silky hairs, through which longer hairs of a very peculiar structure project. These long hairs are very thin at the bulb, and increase very gradually in thickness for about one-third of their length, when they suddenly contract a little, and then expand into a flat lance-shaped blade, which terminates in a very fine point. This coarser fur covers the whole body, the thick root of the tail, and the upper part of the limbs; the rest of the tail, the under side of the muzzle, and the upper surface of the feet are clothed with short, close hairs. The ears are of moderate size, the eyes very small, and the toes on all the feet five in number, armed with small sharp claws, and without webs, but the second and third toes on the hind feet are united as far as the end of the first phalanx.
The most remarkable peculiarity of the animal is its tail, which presents a most unusual development for an Insectivorous Mammal. Professor Allman says, “It is so thick at its base that the trunk seems uninterruptedly continued into it; but it soon becomes laterally compressed, and then grows gradually thinner and narrower towards the tip.... Its lower edge is rounded, and its upper is continued into a membranous crest about one-eighth of an inch in height, and clothed with the same short, stiff, appressed hairs” as the rest of the tail.
This great development of the tail might of itself convince us that this organ is of great service to its owner, and such, from the account of the habits of the animal given by its discoverer, is evidently the case. M. Du Chaillu says:—“This extraordinary animal is found in the mountains of the interior, or in the hilly country explored by me north and south of the equator. It is found along the water-courses of limpid and clear streams, where fish are abundant. It hides under rocks along these streams, lying in wait for fish. It swims through the water with a rapidity which astonished me; before the fish has time to move it is caught. On account of the rapidity of its movements, I have given it the specific name of velox. The animal returns to land with its prey almost as rapidly as it started from its place of concealment. The great motive power of the animal in the water seems to be in its tail.”
WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW. (From the Transactions of the Zoological Society.)
CHAPTER II.
GOLDEN MOLES—MOLES—DESMANS—SHREWS.
General Description of the Golden Mole Family—Their Points of Difference from the True Mole—[THE CAPE GOLDEN MOLE]—Its Varieties—The Family of True Moles—[THE COMMON MOLE]—Described—Distribution—Teeth—Fore-limbs—Breast-bone—Not a Miserable Creature—Extreme Voracity—Diet—His Blindness a Popular Error—A Thirsty Soul—His Fortress—The Roads leading to it—Speed of a Frightened Mole—“Mole-hills”—A-wooing—His Strong Family Affections—His Persecution a Doubtful Benefit—[THE BLIND MOLE]—Several Allied Species—[THE STAR-NOSED MOLE]—Its Snout—[THE COMMON SHREW MOLE]—Other Species in the United States—The Family of Desmans—[THE DESMAN]—Its Otter-like Habits—Its Trunk—[THE PYRENEAN DESMAN]—[THE HAIRY-TAILED MOLE-SHREW]—The Family of Shrews—[THE COMMON SHREW]—Or Shrew-Mouse—Superstitions about it—[DEKAY’S SHREW]—[THE GARDEN SHREW]—[THE TUSCAN SHREW]—[THE RAT-TAILED SHREW]—[THE WATER SHREW]—Essentially Aquatic—Its Prey—Allied Species—[THE TIBETAN WATER SHREW]—[THE TAILLESS SHREW]—Concluding Remarks—Classification—Distribution—Affinities
FAMILY VII.—CHRYSOCHLORIDÆ, OR GOLDEN MOLES.
A FEW species of Insectivora, which, in their general form and habits more or less resemble our Common Moles, but differ from them in several important points of structure, form the family of the Chrysochloridæ, or Golden Moles. They are peculiar to the southern and eastern parts of Africa, ranging from the Cape to the Mozambique Coast.
