[ 5 .] 3 . S o r e x P a r v u s . (Say ?) Small Shrew-Mouse.
Sorex parvus. Say. Long's Expedition, vol. i, p. 163 ?
Sorex, No. 89. Museum or th e Zoological Society.
There is a specimen of a shrew-mouse in the Museum of the Zoological Society,
which answers nearly to the description of the Sorex parvus by Say, except that
its tail is considerably longer. Not to add unnecessarily to the number of specific
names, I have adopted Mr. Say’s, until a comparison of authentic specimens shall
determine whether it belongs to the same or a different species. Forster, in the
Philosophical Transactions^ mentions the Sorex araneus as an inhabitant of
Hudson’s Bay. The large naked ears of that species would distinguish it at once
from the S. parvus.
D escript ion of the specimen in the Zoological Museum.
Form.—Ears very short, and indicated only by a brownish tuft of hair, shorter than the rest of
the fur. Muzzle more slender than that of S. palustris, but not so much so as that of S. For-
steri. The tail is apparently cylindrical the greater part of its length, pointed and perhaps
slightly compressed at the tip. The fur, from its root to near the tip, has a dark blackish-gray
- colour, but from its closeness only the tips are seen, and on the back they have a brownish-^
black colour, on the head and sides brownish-gray, and on the belly ash-gray. The feet
have a brownish tinge. The points of the teeth are dark reddish-brown..
Dimensions.
Inches, Lines. •
Length of head and body . . . 2 9
» **S • • .. • ' . 1 9
5, from nostrils to incisors. . . . o ]£
Mr. Collie, surgeon of his Majesty’s ship Blossom, caught a Shrew-mouse on
the shores of Behring’s Straits, which he describes, as haying a dark brownish-
gray colour above, and a gray tint beneath. It measured, from the tip of the snout
to the root of the tail, two inches and four lines, and its tail was one inch long.
This specimen agrees still more nearly with Mr. Say’s description than the one in
the Zoological Museum does, and if it is allowed to be of the same species, it gives
to the Sorex parvus a range of twenty-three degrees of latitude.
[ 6 .] 1 . S c a l o p s C a n a d e n s i s . (Cuvier.) Shrew-Mole,*
Genus. Scalops. Cuvier.
Brown Mole. P ennant. Arctic Zool., vol. i. p. 141.
Sorex aquaticus. Lin, Syst.
Musaraigne-taupe. Cuvier. Tab. Elém.
Scalope de Canada. Cuvier. Règne An., vol. i. p. 134.
Shrew-Mole. God man. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 84, t. v. fig. 3.
Mole. Lewis and Clarke. Journey, éfcc., vol. iii. p. 42.
DESCRIPTION.
Dental formula, incisors ■§, grinders |§ g || — 44.
The two upper incisors have an exact resemblance, in shape and position, to the two middle
incisors of man. They occupy the end of the jaw, and are twice as broad, and somewhat
higher than the grinders which immediately follow, The four first grinders of a side are
conical, and obscurely three-sided^ The fifth is a little compressed, and has a minute projection
at its base posteriorly. The sixth is still more compressed, and has a larger posterior
projection. These six anterior grinders (termed conical teeth, or false grinders by some
authors) are nearly equal to each other in height, and occupy the whole jaw between the
incisors and posterior higher grinders. They stand at equal but small .distances from each
other, and from the incisors, not exceeding the quarter of the breadth of a single tooth. The
four posterior grinders are larger, and rather exceed the incisors in height. The first of them,
or seventh grinder, does not differ much from the preceding one ; it is compressed, has
an acute lobe posteriorly, and a minute one on the inside anteriorly. The two next grinders
are composed of two exterior triangular folds of enamel, and one interior one, producing,
besides some subordinate points, three conspicuous sharp ones, of which the interior one is
lower than the other two, The tenth or last grinder is smaller than the two which precede it.
In the lower jaw, there are two incisors, shaped like the upper ones, but much smaller and
lower than the closely adjoining grinders. They are succeeded on each side by seven small
conical but rather obtuse grinders, which are flat on the inside. These teeth are close to each
other, but do not touch, and they have their points gently inclined forwards. They increase
gradually but slightly in height, in proportion as they are situated further from the incisors ;
and the three which are farthest back have a minute projection at their bases posteriorly.
The foremost of these conical teeth on each side, which is almost in contact with the incisors,
closely resembles the two which follow it ; but it is by many considered as an incisor, and
when one or both lower incisors have dropped out, it does indeed approach to its fellow, and
then becomes more opposed to the upper incisors. They stand, like the other grinders,
* The English trivial name of Shrew-mole is a translation of Pennant’s epithet Sorex talpaformis, or of Cuvier’s
Musaraigne-taupe, and is adopted from Dr. Godman.