Dekay’s Shrew is about four inches and a half long, and the tail about an inch. Its fur is of a rusty yellow-grey colour above, paler beneath; the nose and feet are reddish-brown, and the front incisors black. From Dr. Bachman’s description it would appear that this animal burrows rather deeply in the ground, after the fashion of the Mole. It is found in the northern United States.
THE GARDEN SHREW.[284]
A very considerable number of Shrews, distributed in all parts of the Old World, and including two or three well-known European species, have been formed into the genus Crocidura, which in its turn has been divided again and again by means of characters generally of very slight importance.
The Crociduræ have from twenty-eight to thirty teeth, all white, or with white tips; the lower incisors are not toothed; the teeth between the incisors and the molars in the upper jaw gradually decrease in size; and the tail is covered with short hairs, among which there are a good many longer ones.
The Garden Shrew (Crocidura aranea) is a small species, usually measuring a little over four inches in total length, of which the tail occupies about an inch and a third. It has twenty-eight teeth which are all white. The fur is of a mouse-grey colour, shading off into whitish ash on the lower surface; the feet are light ashy, with the toes flesh-coloured, as is also the tip of the snout; and the ears, which are well exposed, are ash-coloured above and whitish below. The fur occasionally has a reddish-brown tinge; and, as in the Common Shrew, specimens spotted with white, and even albinos, sometimes occur. This is a common species almost all over Europe, but does not occur in Sweden or in the British Islands. It lives in woods and plantations, in the fields and in gardens, and in the winter approaches close to the houses, sheltering itself under stones and other objects, and sometimes even entering stables and other outbuildings. Like the other species, it feeds upon insects, worms, and other small animals, and like them also it has the reputation of injuring domestic animals by walking over them.
The Tuscan Shrew (Crocidura etrusca) is another well-known European species, but its distribution is much more limited than that of the Garden Shrew. It is found generally in the extreme south of Europe, from France to the Black Sea, and also in the north of Africa, but does not appear to extend north of the Alps. Like the Garden Shrew, it frequents gardens, and not unfrequently comes into houses and outbuildings. In the open country it selects dry and warm situations.
The total length of the Tuscan Shrew is from two inches and a half to two inches and three-quarters, and as the tail is nearly an inch long, the head and body may measure little more than an inch and a half. It is the smallest of living Mammals. The teeth are thirty in number. The colour of the fur is ashy with a reddish tinge above, light ashy beneath; the tail is clothed with short hairs, and with a series of rings of longer white hairs; and the ears are of moderate size, projecting distinctly from the fur. In its habits it agrees with the other species.
THE RAT-TAILED SHREW.[285]
Amongst a number of Indian species, some of which are of doubtful distinctness, we may notice one which seems to be widely distributed in the East, and well known in India and elsewhere, under the name of the Musk Shrew, or Musk Rat. It is usually of a dark brown or even blackish colour above, and much paler beneath, but it varies considerably in this respect, and thus has probably given origin to several so-called species. The ears are of considerable size, and the tail, which is about three-fourths the length of the body, is thickened towards the root—a character of the sub-genus Pachyura. The animal is about six inches long. It is a very common Indian species, and frequents houses at night, hunting round the rooms in search of the Cockroaches and other insects which abound there. From time to time it utters a sharp, shrill cry. Its musky odour is exceedingly strong, and is said to impregnate everything that the animal passes over; in fact, the popular belief in India is that in running over a bottle of wine or beer, it is capable of infecting the contents! This, however, is rather more than doubtful. Mr. Jerdon distinguishes two species—an Indian one which he calls Sorex cœrulescens, which is usually of a bluish ash colour, and a somewhat smaller species, chiefly inhabiting Further India and China, to which he gives the Linnæan name of Sorex murinus. If they are distinct, it is probably to the latter that Mr. Swinhoe refers in his notes on Chinese Mammals under the name the “Musk Rat.” He says that it is found throughout China, Formosa, and Hainan, in houses in large towns, being carried about in junks with the cargo. It has an unpleasant musky odour, and makes a peculiar chattering noise, which sounds like the chinking of money, and, he adds, often disturbed him in his room at night. Such a sound heard in the dark in a strange place would certainly be rather alarming to any one who had money to lose.
