1.SOREX CAPERSI S . '
2. S O R EX FLAYR S fE N S
Mammalia.-flkte4d. ■
M ammalia.— P l a t e XLY. 1.
S. supra cinnereo-brunneus, subtus flavo-cinnereus; rostro antice integro; caudfl brev& cylindraced.
L ongitudo e xostri apice ad basin caudae 4 u n c .; caudse 1 uno. 5 lin.
Sorex Capensis, Geoff. Annal de Mus. tom xvii., p. 184.
C o lo ur .—The upper and lateral parts of the head, the back and upper
parts of the sides, the extremities and the tail intermediate between broccoli-
brown and chestnut-brown ; lower parts of sides, belly, breast, throat, chin,
and inner surface of extremities intermediate between ash-grey and yellowish
grey ; anterior surface of ears the colour of the body, only paler, posterior
surface flesh coloured; muzzle brownish red ; whiskers partly liver-brown
and partly bluish white ; claws horn-coloured.
F o km, A c. -Figure- slender. Head small, and between the ears broad and
arched, in this respect different from Sorex Jlavescens, which is rather contracted.
Muzzle moderately robust, the point bare and entire; extremities
slender; tail cylindrical and slightly tapered to the point.
DIMENSIONS.
Inches. Lines.
Length from the tip of the nose to
the base of the tail ........... 4 0
of the tail................................ l 5
Height when standing........................ l 3
Inches. Lines
Distance from the ear to the eye ... 0
the eye to the tip of
the nose ................. '0 5£
When in Paris some few weeks ago, I was informed by M. Geoffroy St. Hillaire, th a t he considered
the Shrew which had been described as Sorex Capensis to be identical with Sorex Indicus,
and he was o f opinion th at the individual which formed the type of the species was actually
obtained from the Mauritius. The specimen here figured and described, however, was certainly
an inhabitant of the Cape of Good Hope, and as it is smaller than either the species
which is found in the Mauritius or th at which is known under the name Sorex Indicus, I have
considered it as an example of the Sorex capensis of Geoff. I t inhabits rocky situations in
Southern Africa, and is found most abundantly in the Cape District. I t is readily to be
distinguished from Sorex Jlavescens by the tip of its muzzle being entire, by its colour, and
by its head being shorter and less conical.