entirely deficient; the interfemoral membrane forms a mere border to
the legs; the ears are of moderate size and furnished with a small
tragus; and the nasal appendage consists only of the part analogous
to the horseshoe in other genera, the upper leaf being absent.
The thumb is very long and strong. The only species of the genus
_Desmodus_ (_D. rufus_) measures about four inches in length, and
some fifteen or sixteen inches in expanse of wing. The fur varies
considerably in colour, but generally shows various tints of brown,
from a reddish-brown, as in the specimen originally described by Prince
Maximilian, through a plain brown, to ashy-brown and mouse-colour,
variations which have induced zoologists to describe several distinct
species, now, however, generally regarded as identical. This species
in its various forms seems to be very generally distributed in all the
warmer parts of South America, from Chili to Guiana. As already stated,
it appears to be the only species that has been detected in the act
of blood-sucking; and by some of the most recent authorities it and
its near ally, _Diphylla ecaudata_, are believed to be the only South
American Bats which are really guilty of that atrocity.
Dr. Hensel, who has discussed this matter at some length, in connection
with his observations on the Bats of Brazil, remarks that the teeth of
most of the Phyllostomidæ are like those of the true Carnivora, and
the wounds inflicted by them, as may easily be observed by the captor
of one of them, are of the same kind as those produced by the teeth
of a small Carnivore. In the latter, as he says, there is no loss of
substance; the bite consists usually of four punctures, where the
canine teeth have pierced the skin, and severe bleeding occurs only
when these teeth have penetrated to some depth, and injured one or more
of the larger vessels.
But the wounds observed on Horses or Mules that have been bitten
by blood-sucking Bats are, as already stated, of quite a different
character. They form small oval surfaces, which are but slightly
sunken, the surface of the cut not being perpendicular to that of the
spot bitten, as would be the case in wounds produced by long canine
teeth, but in a general way parallel to it. A similar wound would be
produced by lifting a small portion of skin by means of a pair of
forceps, and then passing a knife along the surface of the skin, as
if to shave it, but so as to cut away the raised portion. By a cut
or bite of this kind, notwithstanding its being so superficial, a
portion of substance is always lost, a great number of fine cutaneous
vessels are cut through, and an abundant and long-continued bleeding
is caused.[250] Such wounds, says Dr. Hensel, can be produced only by
large, peculiarly shovel-like, and very sharp incisor teeth, and such
teeth occur only in the allied genera _Desmodus_ and _Diphylla_. With
the latter he had no acquaintance, but he obtained _Desmodus rufus_
in abundance. He says it usually lives in cavities in the rocks, but
sometimes in large hollow trees. “In capturing these animals,” he adds,
“I have often had the opportunity of observing the wounds that they
inflicted on the noses of my Dogs which tried to seize them, or on my
own hands, and found that they perfectly resembled those of the Horses
bitten by the blood-suckers. The creatures bite with the rapidity of
lightning, and even when they seem merely to touch the skin, a piece
of it is found to be deficient. They cannot therefore hold fast with
their teeth, as all other Phyllostomidæ do, for these, when they are
captured, in their rage seize with their teeth any object within their
reach, and hold it for some time.” It would appear, especially from
the rudimentary state of their molar teeth, that these Bats cannot
be supposed to prey upon insects, no remains of which have ever been
found in their stomachs, and their excrements consist solely of a
black, pitch-like paste, evidently digested blood. This is evacuated
near the entrance of the caves in which the creatures live, and while
they are waiting until the darkness outside is sufficient for them
to start on their piratical excursions. The floor at such a place is
found covered with a layer of the above-mentioned black mass, which
may attain a thickness of a foot or more. Dr. Hensel mentions that a
large Dog, after paying a visit to one of the caverns haunted by these
Bats, looked as if he had got long black boots on. The same writer is
of opinion that the Bats must obtain the greater part of their food by
capturing and sucking the blood of the smaller warm-blooded animals.
As the large domestic animals are not indigenous to America, it is
probable that they only furnish an occasional meal to some of the great
swarms of these Bats that infest the country.
[Illustration: DESMODUS.]
That the Desmodus is specially organised for a peculiar diet is shown
by the extraordinary structure of its stomach, which, as described
by Professor Huxley, whose observations are confirmed by Professor
Peters, differs from that of any other Mammal. The gullet (_g_ in
figure) is exceedingly narrow, and opens into a transversely elongated
tubular stomach, which passes directly on the right side into the
intestine (_i_), the duodenum and stomach not being separated by any
pyloric constriction, and limit of the stomach in this direction
being indicated solely by the insertion of the gall-ducts at a point
only one-fifth of an inch from the opening of the gullet. The other,
or cardiac division of the stomach, on the contrary, is enormously
developed, forming an elongated and convoluted cæcum (_c_) several
inches long, and becoming considerably wider than at its origin.
In one specimen examined, the body of the Bat measured only three
inches and one-fifth in length; the intestine, from the pylorus to
its termination, was eleven inches long; while the above-mentioned
cæcal portion, when straightened out, was six inches and a half in
length, or twice as long as the body, and nearly two-thirds the length
of the intestine. Professor Peters describes the cardiac cæcum in
the specimen examined by him as only from one to two inches long. It
may, perhaps, have belonged to a distinct species. The stomach in
the Frugivorous Pteropidæ is elongated and tubular, no doubt for the
reception of the huge quantity of vegetable food which they require to
support their existence. In the ordinary Insectivorous Bats the organ
is small and globular, with the pyloric and cardiac orifices near
each other, the nourishment afforded by their usual diet being in a
tolerably concentrated form and firm condition. The extraordinary cæcum
of the blood-suckers, no doubt, serves as a reservoir for their fluid
nutriment, in which it may be stored for a time almost unchanged, and
gradually subjected to the process of digestion.
[Illustration: STOMACH OF DESMODUS.]
[Illustration: STOMACH OF LONG-EARED BAT.]
[Illustration: STOMACH OF PTEROPUS.]
The second species of blood-sucking Bat mentioned in the earlier part
of this article, _Diphylla ecaudata_, agrees with the Desmodus in
its dentition and general characters, but is entirely destitute of
interfemoral membrane, and has the lower incisors pectinate.
* * * * *
The following table of the classification of Bats here adopted will
assist the reader in the comprehension of the information given in the
preceding pages:--
SUB-ORDER I.--MEGACHIROPTERA.
Family I.--PTEROPIDÆ.
+Group 1.+--_Pteropi._--Tongue moderate; molars well developed.
Genera.--Pteropus, Cynopterus, Cynonycteris, Harpyia, Epomophorus,
Hypsignathus, and Cephalotes. +Group 2.+--_Macroglossi._--Tongue
very long; molars very small. Genera.--Macroglossus, Eonycteris,
and Notopteris.
SUB-ORDER II.--MICROCHIROPTERA.
A.--_Vespertilionine Alliance._
Family II.--RHINOLOPHIDÆ.
Sub-family 1.--Rhinolophinæ.--First toe with two, remainder with
three phalanges. Genus.--Rhinolophus.
Sub-Family 2.--Phyllorhininæ. Toes equal, each of two phalanges.
Genera.--Cœlops, Phyllorhina, Rhinonycteris, and Triænops.
Family III.--NYCTERIDÆ.
Sub-family 1.--Nycterinæ.--Nasal apparatus concealed; tail long.
Genus.--Nycteris.
Sub-family 2.--Megaderminæ.--Nose-leaf distinct; tail short.
Genus.--Megaderma.
Family IV.--VESPERTILIONIDÆ.
+Group 1.+--_Vespertiliones._--Crown of head flat, or nearly
so; upper incisors close to canines; ears moderate, separate.
Genera.--Vespertilio, Vesperugo, Chalinolobus, Scotophilus,
Nyeticejus, Atalapha, and Kerivoula. +Group 2.+--_Plecoti._--Head
and incisors as above; ears very large, generally united.
Genera--Plecotus, Synotus, Histiotus, Otonycteris, Coriuorhinus,
Nyctophilus, and Antrozous. +Group 3.+--_Miniopteri._--Crown
greatly elevated; upper incisors separated from canines.
Genera.--Natalus, Miniopterus, and Thyroptera.
B.--_Emballonurine Alliance._
Family V.--EMBALLONURIDÆ.
Sub-family 1.--Emballonurinæ.--Tail slender; upper incisors
weak. +Group 1.+--_Emballonuræ._--Frontal bones convex.
Genera.--Furia, Saccopteryx, Rhynchonycteris, and Emballonura.
+Group 2.+--_Taphozoi._--Frontal bones with a concavity;
pre-maxillary bones separate in front. Genera.--Coleura, Taphozous,
Diclidurus. +Group 3.+--_Rhinopomata._--Frontal bones concave;
pre-maxillaries united (a small nose-leaf). Genus.--Rhinopoma.
+Group 4.+--_Noctiliones._--First phalanx of middle finger extended
in repose. Genus.--Noctilio.
Sub-family 2.--Molossinæ.--Tail thick; upper incisors strong.
+Group 5.+--_Molossi._--Middle finger with two phalanges.
Genera.--Mormopterus, Molossus, Nyctinomus, and Chiromeles.
+Group 6.+--_Mystacinæ._--Middle finger with three phalanges.
Genus.--Mystacina.
Family VI.--PHYLLOSTOMIDÆ.
Sub-family 1.--Lobostominæ.--Nostrils in front of muzzle; chin with
erect cutaneous ridges. Genera.--Chilonycteris, Pteronetus, Mormops.
Sub-family 2.--Phyllostominæ.--Nostrils on upper surface of
muzzle; chin with warts. +Group 1.+--_Vampyri._--Molars with
W-shaped cusps; four upper incisors; muzzle long; tongue
moderate. Genera.--Macrotus, Lonchorhina, Macrophyllum, Vampyrus,
Schizostoma, Lophostoma, Trachyops, Phyllostoma, Carollia,
Rhinophylla. +Group 2.+--_Glossophagæ._--Like the Vampyri,
but tongue very long, and lower lip divided by a deep groove.
Genera.--Glossophaga, Monophyllus, Ischnoglossa, Phyllonycteris,
Lonchoglossa, Glossonycteris. +Group 3.+--_Stenodermata._--Muzzle
short; molars with a cutting outer edge; four upper incisors.
Genera.--Stenoderma, Artibeus, Phyllops, Vampyrops, Pygoderma,
Ametrida, Chiroderma, Sturnira, Brachyphylla, Centurio. +Group
4.+--_Desmodontes._--No true molars; two upper incisors.
Genera.--Desmodus, Diphylla.
We have already remarked that of these families the Vespertilionidæ
may be regarded as the types of the whole order; they realise all
the notions that we form in our minds when we speak of “a Bat,” and
this with the greatest simplicity, or with the smallest amount of
complication from subordinate characters. Next to them in this respect
come some of the Emballonuridæ. The other families group themselves
round these, or the whole of the other Microchiroptera may be said
to surround the Vespertilionidæ. Mr. Dobson, accepting the notion of
the origin of organic forms by a process of evolution, assumes an
unknown group of ancestral forms (_Palæochiroptera_) from which in the
first place the Vespertilionidæ and Emballonuridæ diverge, forming
the roots of his two “alliances.” From the Emballonuridæ proceed
the Phyllostomidæ, and from the Vespertilionidæ the Nycteridæ and
Rhinolophidæ. From this point of view these Bats may be regarded as
allied to the Insectivora through some unknown common ancestors; but
what these may have been, or by what stages the Bat-type originated
from the ordinary quadruped, it is very difficult to imagine. The
facts of geographical distribution go far, however, to confirm the
view that the Vespertilionidæ and Emballonuridæ are the central and
oldest types of Bats; their distribution is world-wide, and even some
nearly allied forms are found in very distant parts of the world. The
other families are more restricted in their range, the Nycteridæ and
Rhinolophidæ being confined to the Eastern, and the Phyllostomidæ to
the Western hemisphere, and chiefly to the warmer zones, whereas the
Vespertilionidæ extend much further to the north.
The Pteropidæ, or Frugivorous Bats, however, cannot well be brought
into this scheme of descent. They stand completely isolated from the
rest of the order, and their peculiar distribution would almost seem
to indicate that their origin and relationships were distinct from
those of the other Bats. Their range, which sweeps round the shores of
the Indian Ocean from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia, and extends,
perhaps somewhat exceptionally, into the islands of the Pacific,
although it cannot be said to coincide with that of the Lemuroids,
being so much wider, at least includes the whole of the localities
in which the latter are met with; and if the Lemuroids are really,
as seems probable, segregated descendants of a great fauna which
inhabited the supposed sunken continent of “Lemuria,” the same origin
may fairly be ascribed to the Pteropidæ, and their wider distribution
may be accounted for by their much greater power of locomotion. In
connection with this it is interesting to note the strong Lemurian
resemblances presented by many of the Pteropidæ; and further, the sort
of common point of junction between the Lemuroids, the Pteropids, and
the Insectivora, furnished by that curious animal the _Galeopithecus_,
or Flying Lemur, which is also still an inhabitant of a region haunted
by Lemuroids and Pteropine Bats. The Pteropidæ thus seem to stand
quite apart from the other Bats. From a genealogical point of view,
which indeed is that which we always take of the relationships of
animals, whether we believe in the doctrine of descent or not, we may
ask whether the two sub-orders of Bats have not been realised in their
present form through two quite different series of modifications.
The appeal to fossil evidence, which in some cases leads to
satisfactory results, gives us no clue to the origin of the different
groups of Bats. Of the Pteropidæ no fossil remains are known. Of the
other families the most ancient remains are, as might be expected,
those of the Vespertilionidæ, several species of which have been found
in Miocene beds at Mayence and in the south of France, and even in the
Eocene gypsum deposits of the Paris basin. Other bones identical with
those of species now living in the same localities have been detected
in bone-caves in various parts of Europe. Bones of a _Rhinolophus_
have occurred in the cavern of “Kent’s Hole,” near Torquay; and the
celebrated bone-caves Brazil have furnished numerous remains of Bats,
all of which, however, are referable to the peculiarly South American
family Phyllostomidæ. Thus, so far as we are acquainted with them, the
fossil remains of Bats, even the most ancient, indicate only forms more
or less nearly related to those still existing in the same localities,
and furnish us with no means even of speculating upon the course of
events by which, so to speak, the type of the Chiroptera was evolved.
W. S. DALLAS.
[Illustration: LOW’S PTILOCERQUE.]
ORDER INSECTIVORA.
CHAPTER I.
COLUGOS--BANGSRINGS--JUMPING SHREWS--HEDGEHOGS--TANRECS--RIVER SHREWS.
Functions of the Insect-eaters in the Order of Nature--Their
leading Peculiarities--Classification--COLUGOS--Various
Opinions regarding their Place--COLUGO, OR FLYING LEMUR--The
_Patagium_--Parachute-like Membrane--Dentition--Offspring--Diet--
BANGSRINGS--TANA--FERRUGINOUS BANGSRING--HORSFIELD’S BANGSRING--
LOW’S PTILOCERQUE--SHORT-TAILED BANGSRING--JUMPING SHREWS--ELEPHANT
SHREW--ALGERIAN JUMPING SHREW--PETRODROME--RHYNCHOCYON--HEDGEHOG--
Characteristics--Distribution--Diet--Attacks Snakes and Vipers--
Taste for Eggs and Game--Its “Spiny Skin”--“Rolled up”--Enemies--
Female and Young--LONG-EARED HEDGEHOG--COLLARED HEDGEHOG--BULAU--
TANRECS--TANREC--TENDRAC--TELFAIR’S TENDRAC--RICE TENDRAC--EARED
EARTH SHREW--AGOUTA--ALMIQUI--WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW.
In the grand economy of nature small things play sometimes very
considerable parts; and the innumerable hosts of insects, making up by
their numbers for their individual insignificance, are of very great
importance in a great variety of fashions. One of their most striking
functions is undoubtedly the checking of vegetable growth. They attack
plants in all parts--in the roots, the stem, the branches, the leaves,
and the flowers and fruit--in this way, while merely obeying their own
appetites, imposing a constant check upon the increase of vegetation;
and being for the most part specially confined to particular plants or
groups of plants, they assist materially in preserving the balance of
power in the vegetable world. At the same time, it must be borne in
mind that there is the same tendency in insects, as in any other group
of organisms, to inordinate increase. The checkers thus need a check in
their turn, and the number of other creatures whose business it seems
to be to keep down the undue multiplication of insects is exceedingly
great.
We have seen that among the Mammalia the Bats for the most part have
this duty imposed upon them. They attack the winged armies of perfect
insects in the air, and must cut off an enormous number of potential
parents of plant-eating larvæ. But there are a great many insects
which seldom or never rise into the air, and the larvæ of those which
are aerial in their perfect state are of necessity confined to the
ground or the vegetation growing on it; these are not without their
Mammalian enemies. Many Mammals of the Carnivorous and Marsupial
orders feed wholly or partially upon insects; but there is one order
most of the species of which are exclusively, or almost exclusively,
confined to a diet of terrestrial insects, worms and “such small deer,”
and which has consequently received the name of Insectivora, or “the
insect-eaters.” On trees, on the ground, and even beneath its surface,
and in the water, these animals chase insects and their larvæ; and if
they diversify their diet with worms and other invertebrates, or by
attacking and devouring frogs, fishes, and small birds and Mammalia,
or even in some cases feed chiefly upon such articles, or on fruit,
the predominating taste for insects among the members of the order may
justify the name.
[Illustration: SKELETON OF SHREW.]
The Insectivora are in many respects related to the Bats, and in some
cases show a sort of affinity to the lower Quadrumana. In appearance
many of them show analogy to different families of Rodents, or gnawing
Mammals, the Shrews especially exceedingly mouse-like in their aspect;
but, as might be expected from the difference in the habits, and
especially in the diet of the animals, the simple inspection of the
teeth is always sufficient to distinguish the members of these two
orders.
[Illustration: DENTITION OF HEDGEHOG.]
The leading peculiarities of the Insectivora may be briefly indicated,
with reference to the groups which approach them most closely in
certain points of structure. The limbs are all organised for walking
or digging, the fore limbs never being modified, as in the Bats, into
organs of flight, and the two bones of the fore-arm (_radius_ and
_ulna_) are always more or less distinct. There is no opposable thumb,
either on the fore or the hind feet. The teeth, which are always
encased in enamel, are of the usual three kinds--incisors, canines,
and molars[251]--and the dentition generally resembles that of the
strictly Insectivorous Bats, the molars especially being similarly
furnished with several sharp cusps or points, which are regarded as
characteristic of Insect-eating Mammals. All the teeth are implanted in
the jaws by roots.
In the development of the tail, and the nature of the covering of the
skin, the Insectivora present considerable diversities, which will
be referred to hereafter. Their feet generally consist of five toes,
all armed with claws, and nearly all are plantigrade--that is to say,
they apply the whole, or nearly the whole, of the sole of the foot to
the ground in walking. With a single exception (_Potamogale_, which
is rather anomalous in some other respects), all the Insectivora
are provided with complete clavicles, or collar-bones--a character
which serves to distinguish them from the Carnivora, in which the
collar-bones are either deficient or imperfectly developed. The
teats are generally numerous, and situated on the abdomen, the only
exceptions being the anomalous Colugo, or so-called Flying Lemur, and
the Golden Moles, in which the teats are situated on the breast.
Zoologists are now pretty well agreed as to the classification of these
animals, although there are still differences of opinion as to the best
arrangement of the families, and some minor points. The classification
here adopted is founded upon that proposed by Professor Mivart in
1871, and afterwards modified by Professor Theodore Gill. In this the
whole order is divided into nine families, the first of which is so
anomalous, and so divergent from all the rest in its characters, as
to have led to its being treated as constituting a distinct sub-order
(Dermoptera).
FAMILY I.--GALEOPITHECIDÆ, OR COLUGOS.
The animals which constitute this family, now regarded as constituting
only two species (although the right even of one of these to specific
rank is somewhat doubtful), are in truth amongst the most anomalous
of Mammals. In their characters they present the most singular
resemblances to at least three orders of Mammalia, in which they have
been successively placed by various zoologists. Discovered by the Dutch
voyagers of the seventeenth century in the luxuriant forests of the
Eastern islands, their general Lemur-like aspect led the naturalists
of those days to class them with those creatures, and Camelli, the
distinguished botanist, gave them the name of _Galeopithecus_, which
became in Petiver’s hands, “_Cato-simius volans_,” or the Flying
Cat-Monkey. Seba left out the Monkey, and called the animal simply the
Flying Cat of Ternate (_Felis volans ternatea_); whilst Bontius, laying
undue weight on its so-called flying powers, regarded it as a Bat, and
gave it the name of _Vespertilio admirabilis_. Linnæus accepted the
Lemur hypothesis, and placed the animal in his genus _Lemur_, under
the name of _Lemur volans_, or the Flying Lemur, and this position
it continued to hold for a very long time, although Pallas separated
it from the true Lemurs under Camelli’s name of _Galeopithecus_. No
one ever reverted to the notion that the Colugo was a Bat, but from
time to time various naturalists have pointed out that in many of
its characters it approached the Insectivora; and of late years the
evidence in favour of its belonging to that order has been put forward
so strongly, that nowadays nearly all zoologists regard it as an
exceedingly aberrant member of the group, with more or less distinct
tendencies towards the Bats and the Lemurs, and perhaps with some faint
trace of the Marsupial about it. Mr. Wallace, speaking, of course,
from the standpoint of the theory of evolution, says that “this animal
seems, in fact, to be a lateral offshoot of some low form, which has
survived during the process of development of the Insectivora, the
Lemuroidea, and the Marsupials, from an ancestral type.” There is no
doubt that the beast is sufficiently dissimilar from all other known
Mammals to give a considerable air of probability to the assumption of
its being a survivor from some earlier period of the earth’s history;
but as it is here we must do the best we can with it, and its natural
position is certainly between the true Insectivora and the Lemurs.
As the characters of the family are founded virtually upon a single
species, one description will serve.
THE COLUGO, OR FLYING LEMUR.[252]
The species known to the older naturalists is found in Malacca,
Sumatra, and Borneo, where it inhabits the forests, climbing the trees
like a Squirrel by the aid of its claws, and passing through the air
from one tree to another by means of a membrane (_patagium_), which
extends along the sides of the body, and can be stretched by the
extension of the limbs to which it is attached so as to act as a sort
of parachute, which supports its owner after the same fashion as the
very similar fold of skin that exists in the same position in the
so-called Flying Squirrels and Flying Opossums. In the Colugo, however,
this curious arrangement is carried further than in the other groups
of Mammals just mentioned; for, as in the Bats, there is a distinct
antebrachial membrane, stretching along the front of the arms from the
wrists to the sides of the neck; and the space between the hind limbs
is occupied by an ample triangular membrane, down the middle of which
the long tail passes, and which is also stretched by the extension of
the limbs. Even the toes are joined by membranes as far as the base of
the claws, and this great development of the skin must be regarded as
to a certain extent approximating the creature to the Bats. The whole
of this fold of skin is clothed both above and beneath with hair;
and although some observers have described the animal as moving its
expanded membranes during flight, no approach to the peculiar action
of the Bat’s wing can ever be made by it. The most striking point in
which it exceeds the other parachute-bearing Mammals is the development
of the membrane between the hind limbs, and this, by the action of
the tail, may be made to exert a powerful influence upon the course
of the animal during its so-called flights. Mr. Wallace, who had the
opportunity of observing the Colugo in its native haunts, describes
its flight as follows:--“Once, in a bright twilight,” he says, “I saw
one of these animals run up a trunk in a rather open place, and then
glide obliquely through the air to another tree, on which it alighted
near its base, and immediately began to ascend. I paced the distance
from the one tree to the other, and found it to be seventy yards, and
the amount of descent I estimated at not more than thirty-five or forty
feet, or less than one in five. This, I think, proves that the animal
must have some power of guiding itself through the air, otherwise in
so long a distance it would have little chance of alighting exactly
upon the trunk.” In a subsequent work, following other writers, he
refers this power to the agency of the tail, and even thinks that the
animal may rise over obstacles in its course by the elevatory action
of that organ. The tail is of considerable length, and according to
some writers its extremity has a slight prehensile action which is of
assistance to the animal in climbing. The membranes, when not in use,
as when the Colugo is walking or climbing, fall in great folds at the
sides of the body.
[Illustration: HIND FOOT OF COLUGO.]
[Illustration: BONES OF HIND FOOT OF COLUGO.]
Passing now, by a natural transition, from the parachute-like membranes
to the limbs which traverse and serve to extend them, we find that
these exhibit certain peculiarities of structure which are amongst the
anomalies of this singular creature. The bones of both fore and hind
limbs are elongated and slender--a character which contrasts strongly
with the general state of things in the Insectivora--and the ulna,
which is particularly slender, is united to the radius towards the
extremity. The feet consist of five digits, and they are specially
adapted to enable the animal to climb readily upon the bark of the
trunks and branches of trees. In the hind feet especially part of the
tarsal bones (the navicular and cuboides) are constructed so that they
can easily turn upon the astragalus and calcaneum, and thus the sole is
turned inwards, an arrangement which facilitates the clasping action of
the feet. The inner digits in all the feet possess considerable power
of independent motion, although they are never converted into opposable
thumbs; and this arrangement, combined with the presence of sharp
strong claws upon all the toes, must greatly favour the peculiar mode
of life of the animal. It is to be remarked that the structure of the
hind feet presents some analogy to that prevailing in Bats, and that in
repose the Colugo suspends itself from a branch by the fore and hind
feet, with the body and head hanging downwards, which is also a habit
somewhat reminding us of the Chiroptera.
The head in the _Galeopithecus_ is tolerably broad and a little
flattened; the eyes are placed more laterally than in the Lemurs, and
the orbits containing them form a bony ring which is interrupted behind.
The teeth are very peculiar. In the upper jaw there are on each side
two incisors, those of one side separated from those of the other
by a very wide space. The foremost of these incisors on each side
has a single root and a notched crown; the hinder one is pointed and
implanted by two roots. The canine which follows also possesses two
roots; and this is followed by a molar series of five teeth, each
inserted into the maxillary bone by three roots, and having a crown
with three, four, or five cusps. In the lower jaw, which has the
condyle curiously produced outwards, we find again on each side a
series of five molar teeth, and in front of these a long canine with
two roots; but the whole fore part of the jaw is occupied by six
single-fanged incisors; the crowns of these are nearly horizontal,
broad, flat, and notched, the notching of the two middle pairs being
so deep as to form a regular comb. This structure is exceedingly
remarkable, and occurs in no other animals, the nearest approach to it
being the slightly pectinated teeth in the Desmodont Bats.
[Illustration: LOWER INCISORS OF COLUGO.]
The teats in the _Galeopithecus_ are situated on the sides of the
breast, in the neighbourhood of the armpits. There is a pair on
each side, placed close together, and on the same level. The female
produces only a single young one at a birth, and the little creature,
described by Mr. Wallace as at first very small, blind, and naked,
clings closely to the breast of the mother, which is quite bare and
very much wrinkled. Mr. Wallace sees in this adaptation of the region
of the teats to the wants of an exceedingly incomplete offspring, some
trace of a remote relation to the peculiarities of the Marsupials.
The stomach in this curious animal is of considerable size; and the
intestine is furnished with sacculated cæcum as long as the stomach.
[Illustration: COLUGO.]
The Colugo varies considerably in colour, but is usually of an olive,
brown, or blackish colour, mottled with whitish spots and blotches,
which are said by Mr. Wallace to give it a resemblance to the colour
of mottled bark, sufficient to render it difficult of observation. The
lower surface of the body and membrane is of a tawny grey colour, and
the whole of the fur which clothes the body and membranes is, although
short, most exquisitely soft in texture. The length of the animal is
about eighteen or twenty inches.
The brain in the _Galeopithecus_ is very small, and Mr. Wallace found
it to possess such a remarkable tenacity of life that it was killed
with difficulty by any ordinary means. He describes it as sluggish in
its habits, at least during the day, when it generally rests clinging
to the trunks of trees, and at this time, if it has occasion to move,
it goes up the tree by short runs of a few feet, and then stops a
moment as if it found the action difficult and fatiguing. We have
already quoted Mr. Wallace’s description of the flight of the animal as
witnessed by him early in the evening, and no doubt it is active enough
during the dark hours.
The regular food of the Colugo appears to consist of vegetable
substances, but authors differ somewhat in their statements upon this
subject. By most zoologists it is said to feed on fruits; but Mr.
Wallace says that “like the cuscus of the Moluccas, the _Galeopithecus_
feeds chiefly on leaves.” From the statements of some naturalists it
would seem that it occasionally or habitually adds insects to its diet,
and also that it frequently captures and devours small birds. In all
probability the truth is that it eats almost anything that comes in its
way.
[Illustration: SKULL OF COLUGO.]
Some five or six supposed species of _Galeopithecus_ have been
described by various authors, but most of these are now admitted to
be founded upon young animals, or upon mere varieties. The Colugo of
the Philippine Islands is, however, generally regarded as a distinct
species, although even as to this there is some doubt. It was described
by Mr. Waterhouse as _Galeopithecus philippinensis_, and presents
a close general resemblance to the species above described, but is
smaller, has a shorter head, and shows certain slight differences in
the teeth.
FAMILY II.--TUPAIIDÆ OR BANGSRINGS.
The preceding family, as already stated, is regarded by Mr. Gill as
constituting an actual sub-order of Insectivora, and we have seen that
its characters are really of a very singular kind. The remainder of the
order is treated by him as forming a single great group, characterised
by the absence of parachute membranes, the shortness and robustness
of the limbs, and by the want of that peculiar comb-like structure
of the incisor teeth which distinguishes the _Galeopitheci_ from all
other Mammals. Moreover the condylar process of the lower jaw is never
extended outwards. This group Mr. Gill proposes to name _Bestiæ_ or
_Insectivora vera_.
The Bangsrings, or Sinsrings, form the first family, called Tupaiidæ,
from the name of the most characteristic and best known genus _Tupaia_,
which again was derived by its discoverer and first describer, Sir
Stamford Raffles, from the native name for a Squirrel, with which these
animals are confounded by the Malays of Sumatra. The Bangsrings have
either four or six incisors in the upper, and always six in the lower
jaw; and three or four premolars, and four true molars on each side in
both jaws. The canines are situated far back, and have a single root.
In the skull the orbit is usually complete, or nearly so, and there is
a complete zygomatic arch, with a small slit or aperture beneath the
orbit. The bones of the shank are separate; the intestine has a large
cæcum; and the feet are furnished with five toes, armed with strongly
curved claws. The upper molar teeth are formed of two nearly equal
parts, anterior and posterior, each of which represents a triangular
prism narrowed inwards.
The Bangsrings live in and about trees, where their activity and
general appearance give them a considerable resemblance to small
Squirrels or Lemurs. They also remind one considerably of some of the
smaller Marsupials. Their fur is exceedingly fine and soft; their tail
generally long and well-clothed with hair (except in _Hylomys_); and
their food consists partly of fruits and partly of insects. The species
inhabit South-eastern Asia and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago.
THE TANA.[253]
In the genus _Tupaia_ (or _Cladobates_) from which the present family
takes its name, there are four small incisor teeth separated from each
other in the upper jaw; and six incisors, the middle four of which are
close together, long, and much inclined forwards in the lower jaw.
The upper canines are at some distance from the hindmost incisors,
the lower ones close to them (see figure). Behind the canines there
are on each side in both jaws three premolars, which increase in size
backwards. These are followed by three true molars. The bony orbit is a
complete ring, and the zygomatic arch is also complete, but perforated
by an elongated aperture. The ears are of moderate size, and rounded;
the eyes large and prominent; and the tail long, and well clothed with
hair throughout its whole length; in fact in most species it is a bushy
organ like that of many Squirrels.
[Illustration: DENTITION OF FERRUGINOUS BANGSRING.]
In the Tana (_Tupaia tana_) the arrangement of the hair on the tail
in two rows, something after the fashion of the barbs of a feather on
the shaft, which is more or less recognisable throughout this genus,
is especially remarkable; and as the hair is very long, the tail is
rendered particularly bushy. This animal is one of the larger species,
the body measuring from eight to nine inches in length, and its colour
is rather variable, although usually exhibiting various shades of
reddish-brown, becoming darker or blackish on the hinder part of the
back, where, moreover, the greater part of the hairs are of uniform
tint and not grizzled. The colour of the tail appears to be especially
liable to vary--thus, according to Dr. Günther, in the ordinary form
of the species the tail is black above, with the basal half of each
hair rusty brown, and dark brown below; in another variety, described
by Wagner as a distinct species under the name of _T. speciosa_, the
tail is brownish-red above, and bright rusty-red below; whilst in the
beautiful form from which our illustration is taken the whole organ
is of a reddish golden-yellow colour. This is Dr. Günther’s variety,
_chrysura_ (golden tail).
[Illustration: TANA--GOLDEN-TAILED VARIETY. (From the _Proceedings of
the Zoological Society_.)]
The Tana is an inhabitant of the forests of Sumatra and Borneo.
According to Sir Stamford Raffles, the animal is known to the country
people of Sumatra under the name of _Tupai tana_, and he was informed
that it was always found on or near the ground. A nearly allied but
much smaller species (_T. splendidula_ of Dr. Gray) occurs with it in
the last-named island; and another larger one (_T. nicobarica_) is
found in the Nicobar Islands.
THE FERRUGINOUS BANGSRING.[254]
This species, the _Tupai Press_ of the Malays of Sumatra, and the
_Kekkes_ of the Sundanese in Java, is more widely distributed than the
preceding, being found not only in the two islands above mentioned, but
also in Borneo, Penang, and Singapore. It was first described by Sir
Stamford Raffles. It is one of the larger species, the head and body
measuring about eight inches, and the tail being fully of equal length.
The colour of its fur is almost entirely a rusty red, becoming darker,
however, on the tail and the hinder part of the back, where the hairs
are more or less grizzled with white. The tail is not so bushy as that
of the Tana. The aperture under the orbits is of an elongated oval form.
Sir Stamford Raffles, in his original account of this animal, describes
it as being very lively and playful in its habits, and as feeding on
fruits. He first saw it tame in the house of a gentleman in Penang,
and states that this individual “was suffered to go about in perfect
liberty, ranged in freedom over the whole house, and never failed to
present himself on the breakfast and dinner table, where he partook
of fruit and milk.” Dr. Cantor, in his “Catalogue of the Mammalia
inhabiting the Malayan Peninsula and Islands,” gives the following
interesting account of this Bangsring:--“The young of this very
numerous species in hilly jungle,” he says, “is easily found, and
becomes familiar with its feeder, though towards strangers it retains
its original mistrust, which, in mature age, is scarcely reclaimable.
In a state of nature it lives singly or in pairs, fiercely attacking
intruders of its own species. When several are confined together,
they fight each other, or jointly attack and destroy the weakest. The
natural food is mixed insectivorous and frugivorous. In confinement
individuals may be fed exclusively on either, though preference is
evinced for insects; and eggs, fish, and earth-worms are equally
relished. A short, peculiar, tremulous whistling sound, often heard
by calls and answers in the Malayan jungle, marks their pleasurable
emotions; as, for instance, on the appearance of food; while the
contrary is expressed by shrill protracted cries. Their disposition is
very restless, and their great agility enables them to perform the most
extraordinary bounds in all directions, in which exercise they spend
the day, till night sends them to sleep in their rudely-constructed
lairs in the highest branches of trees. At times they will sit on their
haunches, holding their food between the fore-legs; and after feeding
they smooth the head and face with both fore-paws, and lick the lips
and palms. They are also fond of water, both to drink and to bathe in.
The female usually produces one young.” Dr. Cantor also states that
“the lateral raised lines of the palms and soles, the posterior part
of the first phalanges and the third phalanx, which is widened into
a small soft disc, in fact, all the points which rest on the ground,
are studded with little transversely-curved ridges, or duplications,
similar to those observed under the toes of some Geckotidæ
[Wall-Lizards], which fully accounts for the precision with which these
animals perform the most astounding leaps from below, barely touching
with their soles the _point d’appui_ above. In a cage,” he adds, “the
_Tupaia_ will continue for hours vaulting from below, back downwards,
poise itself for an instant, continuing back downwards under the
horizontal roof, and regain the point of starting, and thus describe a
circle, the diameter of which may be three or four times the length of
the animal, in far shorter time than is required for the description.”
Allied to the Ferruginous Bangsring, and of nearly the same size, are
two species which must be referred to on account of their geographical
distribution, which carries this type of animals much farther to
the west than we should expect. These are Elliot’s Bangsring (_T.
Ellioti_), a species with unusually short and harsh fur, specimens
of which have been obtained from Madras, Bengal, and Bombay; and
Belanger’s Bangsring (_T. Belangeri_), originally procured in Pegu, but
which also occurs in Burmah and Sikkim.
Horsfield’s Bangsring (_Tupaia javanica_) is a smaller animal than
the preceding, an adult specimen measuring only about thirteen inches
long, of which about one-half goes to the tail. The colour of its fur
is greyish-brown, grizzled on the back, and with a whitish line on each
shoulder. It inhabits Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Arracan. The Little
Bangsring (_T. minor_) is a still smaller species, measuring only
five inches and one-third in length of body, but closely resembling
the preceding in its characters. It is described by Dr. Günther from
Bornean specimens. The Murine Bangsring (_T. murina_), which forms the
genus _Dendrogale_ of the late Dr. Gray, has also only been found in
Borneo. It is a small species allied to the preceding, but has the tail
more rat-like, and clothed only with comparatively short hairs, those
of the lower surface especially being very short.
LOW’S PTILOCERQUE.[255]
Besides the true Bangsrings forming the genus _Tupaia_, this family
includes two other small animals, one of which, Low’s Ptilocerque, is
a very elegant little creature. The specimen originally described by
Dr. Gray in 1848 was captured by Mr. Low in Rajah Brooke’s house in
Borneo. It has a rather shorter head than the true Bangsrings, but its
dentition is nearly the same; the aperture under the orbit is round,
and the circle of the bony orbit is not quite complete behind. The most
distinctive character of the animal is, however, to be found in its
tail, which is an exceedingly peculiar organ. The tail itself is long
and slender, and instead of being thickly clothed with bushy hairs, as
in the Bangsrings, it has the basal portion hairy; then a long piece
naked, covered with rings of broad, square scales, among which there
are only a few short, scattered hairs; and, finally, about a third of
its length is furnished with long hairs arranged on the two sides of
the tail, so as to produce the appearance of the two wings of a dart or
arrow (see figure, p. 342).
The Ptilocerque, which is an inhabitant of Borneo and Sarawak, is
between five and six inches long, with a tail rather longer than the
body. Its general colour is blackish-brown above, minutely grizzled
by the yellowish tips of the hairs; the lower parts and the cheeks
are yellowish, and there is a black streak on each side of the face,
enclosing the eyes. The tail is black, with the long hairs of the tip
white, except a few towards the base. The habits of the animal are
probably the same as those of the Tupaias.
THE SHORT-TAILED BANGSRING.[256]
A curious little animal belonging to this family was discovered in
Sumatra by Dr. S. Müller. It has its muzzle produced into a long,
movable snout, and the tail very short and naked. The skull is flatter
than in the true Bangsrings; the orbit is incomplete; the sub-orbital
aperture is in the form of a little fissure; and the dentition is
different, there being six incisors in the upper as well as in the
lower jaw, and four premolars on each side in both jaws. The total
number of teeth is thus forty-four instead of thirty-eight. This animal
has been found in Java and Sumatra.
The same, or a very nearly allied species, has been obtained in Pegu,
and described by Mr. Blyth under the name of _Hylomys peguensis_.
Professor Gill regards these animals as most nearly related to
_Gymnura_ in the family Erinaceidæ.
FAMILY III--MACROSCELIDIDÆ, OR JUMPING SHREWS.
Some curious little creatures, peculiar to Africa and its islands,
in which, as in the Jerboas and Kangaroos, the hind legs are more
developed than the fore limbs, enabling the animals to advance in
a biped fashion by a succession of leaps, are regarded by most
zoologists as nearly related to the Bangsrings; in fact, both Professor
Mivart and Mr. Gill make these two families form a distinct tribe of
Insectivora. They both have the same kind of molar teeth, and the
intestine furnished with a large cæcum. But whilst the Bangsrings
are squirrel-like animals, with feet adapted for a life in trees,
the Jumping Shrews are mouse-like creatures, of terrestrial jumping
habits, and furnished with a long, thin, proboscis-like muzzle, which
has procured for them the name of Elephant Shrews. They have large
eyes, and ears of a moderate size and rather widely separated; their
hind limbs are considerably elongated, especially the shank and the
metatarsus, or portion forming the foot, which has a naked sole that is
applied to the ground; the two bones of the shank (tibia and fibula),
and in general those of the forearm (radius and ulna), are attached
to each other at the lower end; and the first or inner toe is either
placed further back than the others, or altogether deficient. The sides
of the muzzle are usually furnished with very long whiskers. The tail
is long, and more or less rat-like, but covered with short hairs.
In two of the three genera into which the family is divided the number
of teeth is forty, namely, on each side, incisors, 3/3, canines,
1/1, premolars, 3/3, and molars, 3/3, the incisors being small, and
the upper canines furnished with two roots. In the exceptional genus
_Rhynchocyon_, which includes only a single species, there is only one
incisor in the upper jaw, and even this falls out as the animal grows
old.
The species of this family are peculiar to Africa, where they are found
in Algeria and Barbary, along the east coast, and at the Cape of Good
Hope.
THE ELEPHANT SHREW.[257]
[Illustration: SOLE OF RIGHT HIND FOOT OF ELEPHANT SHREW.]
This appears to be the commonest species in Southern Africa, where its
habits were observed by the late Sir Andrew Smith, who founded for it
the genus _Macroscelides_. It is about five inches long, with a tail of
about three inches, and its colour is a tawny brown, becoming whitish
on the limbs. It is diurnal in its habits, and very active, hunting
for its insect prey among the scanty herbage and stunted shrubs,
which alone flourish in the dry rocky spots which it chooses for its
place of habitation. It resides in burrows in the ground, and when
disturbed immediately rushes to take shelter in its home, or under some
neighbouring rock or stone.
[Illustration: ELEPHANT SHREW.]
Sir Andrew Smith described several other South African species, and at
least one has been obtained on the Mozambique coast. In their structure
and general habits they agree with the above-mentioned animal.
THE ALGERIAN JUMPING SHREW.[258]
Besides these southern species, however, the French naturalists have
discovered a species of this genus in Algeria, and it is also found to
inhabit Barbary. It is known to the French colonists in Algeria by the
name of the “_Rat à trompe_.” This animal is of the same size as the
preceding--that is to say, about five inches long; its tail measures
four inches, and its long slender snout about half an inch. It has a
soft tawny fur on the back and sides, and the lower surface is whitish.
The Algerian Jumping Shrew is said to feed not only upon insects, but
also upon vegetable matters. It is gentle and inoffensive, and may
be easily tamed, when its gambols are said to be very sprightly and
amusing.
THE PETRODROME.[259]
The Mozambique coast produces another species of this family, agreeing
with those just noticed in nearly all its characters, but of much
larger size, and further distinguished from them by having only four
toes on each hind foot. The first toe, which is pushed far back, and
considerably reduced in size in the Elephant Shrews, is entirely
deficient in the Petrodrome.
While the _Macroscelides_ generally live in the plains, among grass and
under bushes, the Petrodrome, as its name implies, prefers localities
among the hills, where cavities and fissures in the rocks furnish it
with a secure refuge. In three places where Professor Peters found it,
this was the case. It lives on insects. In captivity it soon becomes
familiar, although at first shy, but never inclined to bite. The
natives at Tette call it _Sâro_.
THE RHYNCHOCYON.[260]
Besides the species of _Macroscelides_ already mentioned, and the
Petrodrome, the coast of Mozambique has another animal which is
referred to this family, although it presents several characters which
separate it very decidedly from all the rest. It was first described by
Professor Peters under the name of _Rhynchocyon_, which means “beaked
dog,” although it must be confessed that there is nothing very dog-like
about it. The name is in allusion to the large size of the canine teeth.
[Illustration: SOLE OF RIGHT HIND FOOT OF PETRODROME.]
The Rhynchocyon, which is a very rare animal in collections,
appears from the description and figure of Professor Peters to be
a queer-looking beast. It measures about eight inches in length,
exclusive of the tail, which is rather long, tapering, and rat-like,
being covered with a ringed skin, and furnished with only a few
scattered hairs. The muzzle is produced into a very long movable snout.
The fur is of a rusty-brown colour, with a blackish tinge about the
ears and the back of the head, and some light reddish spots on the
hinder part of the back.
[Illustration: RHYNCHOCYON.]
This animal, which is called _Mutâu_ by the natives, lives in holes in
the ground, from which it issues at night in search of the insects on
which it feeds, and is chiefly interesting to the zoologist for the
structural characters which it presents. Thus, whilst agreeing with
the ordinary members of the present family sufficiently to warrant its
being classified with them, and to prevent its going anywhere else,
it differs from them in some exceedingly important particulars, which
might almost justify its being placed in a family by itself. Although
the hind legs are more developed than the fore limbs, the disproportion
between them is hardly so great as in the true Jumping Shrews; and
further, all the feet are reduced to the same four-toed condition as
the hind feet in the Petrodrome, and the outer toe is shorter than the
rest. But it is in the dentition that the anomaly is the greatest. The
Rhynchocyon never has more than one small incisor tooth on each side
in the upper jaw, and even this drops out as the creature advances in
age; and the upper canine is a simple tooth with a single root. In
the lower jaw there are three incisors on each side, and in both jaws
the canines are followed by three premolars and three molars. In the
hind legs the two shank-bones are united near the extremity as in the
preceding species, but the two bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna)
are separate.
FAMILY IV.--ERINACEIDÆ, OR HEDGEHOGS.
We pass now from groups of insect-eating animals the members of which
must be sought in far distant countries, to a family represented in
England by a very well-known species. Our Common Hedgehog, in fact,
may serve as an excellent example of the family to which it belongs,
although this certainly includes one species which presents rather
anomalous characters.
All the Erinaceidæ have the two molar teeth broad, as in the preceding
families; in fact, here the hinder ones are nearly square, and the
tubercles forming their upper surface are rounded in form. The
skull has a complete zygomatic arch, and the tympanic bone forms a
bubble-like swelling on each side of the back of the skull. The back
is clothed with hairs, among which there are a number of strong spines
or bristles. The legs are short, and formed exclusively for walking,
and the hind legs have the two bones of the shank (tibia and fibula)
united. The intestine has no cæcum.
These animals are confined to the Old World, in nearly all parts of
which some of the species are to be found. They feed chiefly upon
insects and other small animals; most of them have the power of rolling
themselves up into a ball, when the prickles with which the back is
armed constitute a most formidable defensive armour; and in cold
countries they pass the winter in a state of torpidity. Several fossil
species have been found in Tertiary deposits in Europe.
THE HEDGEHOG.[261]
Our Common English Hedgehog may serve as the type of this family; all
the species of which, with only a single exception, belong to the same
genus, and present a very close resemblance to each other, both in
appearance and habits. All the Hedgehogs, in fact, are small animals
of robust form, with very short tails, and the greater part of the
hairs of the upper surface converted into sharp spines. The muzzle is
conical, and the jaws contain thirty-six teeth, twenty of which are
in the upper and sixteen in the lower jaw (see figure, p. 343). The
arrangement of these teeth is peculiar. There are three incisors on
each side, of which the inner one is considerably larger than the rest,
and in the upper jaw these are separated by a small space from the
next tooth, which is generally regarded as a premolar, in which case
the animals have no canines. Behind this, in the upper jaw, are three
premolars, gradually increasing in size until the third has very much
the appearance of a true molar, but furnished with a cutting edge;
and then three molar teeth, two of which are large and broad, nearly
square, and crowned with very strong tubercles, admirably adapted
for crushing the hard skins of the insects on which the Hedgehogs
principally feed. The hindmost molar is a small tooth. In the lower jaw
the innermost incisor is very large, and projects almost horizontally
forward, and it is followed by three small teeth, the nature of which
has been a matter of dispute. Two of them, however, are generally
considered to be incisors, and the third a premolar, but by M. F.
Cuvier they were all described as premolars, making, with another and
larger tooth which follows them, four premolars in the lower as in
the upper jaw, This last premolar is a carnassial or cutting tooth,
corresponding to that in the upper jaw. It is separated by a small
space from the last of the smaller anterior teeth, and is followed by
three true molars, two of which are large, and furnished with four or
five sharp tubercles, while the third is small, and shows only one
strong point.
In the Common Hedgehog, as in most species of the genus _Erinaceus_,
the feet are all composed of five toes; the legs are short, so that
the animal runs along with its belly nearly touching the ground; the
spines, with which the whole upper surface is covered, are hard,
sharp, round, about an inch in length, of a dirty-white colour, with
a dark-brown or nearly black ring a little above the middle; the nose
is black, and the unspined parts of the body are clothed with coarse
yellowish-white hair. The ears are small and rounded. The total length
of the adult Hedgehog is usually about ten inches.
[Illustration: HEDGEHOG.]
The Hedgehog inhabits the whole of Europe except Scandinavia and the
north of Russia. It is found in the Caucasus, but does not appear to
extend further into Asia. It lives both in the low country and in the
mountains, ascending, in the Alps and Carpathians, to an elevation
of above 6,000 feet. It may be met with in almost all situations,
in forests, woods, fields, gardens, and orchards, where it takes up
its abode in thickets, in hedge-bottoms, and even in holes in walls.
In such situations it passes its days in sleep, for it is, strictly
speaking, a nocturnal animal, although on rare occasions it may be
seen abroad in the day-time. In similar situations it passes the
whole winter in a profound slumber, forming a nest for itself of moss
or leaves, sometimes under the smaller growth of woods and gardens,
sometimes in a hedge-bank, in the hollows and among the bare roots of
trees, and in holes among rocks or in walls. The nest most commonly
consists in whole or in part of withered leaves, which appear to be
useful in keeping out the wet, and as the innermost leaves are impaled
upon the animal’s spines, it retains a thin coat of leaves when turned
out of its winter-nest.
As the spring advances, the Hedgehog rouses itself from its long sleep,
and proceeds to make up for the enforced abstinence from food which it
has undergone for so many weeks. It comes forth in the evening, and
runs about pretty quickly, but with a curious shuffling gait, in search
of the insects and other small animals which constitute its usual prey.
Insects, and particularly Beetles, appear to form the greater part
of its diet, and its teeth are admirably adapted for pounding up the
hard skins of these creatures. In consequence of their predilection
for insect food, great numbers of Hedgehogs are brought to London and
other great towns, to be kept in houses for the purpose of destroying
the Cockroaches (Blackbeetles, as they are commonly called) which are
such disagreeable inmates of most kitchens. In the pursuit of these
insects the Hedgehog shows much activity, and Mr. Bell says that he has
“seen a Hedgehog, in a London kitchen, push its way beneath a piece of
carpet in all directions, and heard it at intervals crushing up the
Cockroaches which it met with. In a short time it freed the place of
these pests.” Sometimes, however, this consummation is not quite so
easily attained, and we have heard of more than one instance in which
the first Hedgehog brought into the house as a Beetle-killer actually
died of overfeeding, and at least one other had to be procured before
the plague of Cockroaches was got rid of.
Besides insects, the Hedgehog feeds on earthworms, slugs, and snails,
and in destroying the latter it may certainly be regarded as a friend
to the gardener. The consumption of earthworms is performed in a rather
curious manner. These animals are seized when they are enjoying the
damp freshness of the air out of their holes in summer evenings, and
slowly passed into the mouth of their enemy from one end to the other
apparently by the simple process of mastication with the molar teeth,
the unconsumed portion of the worm being constantly transferred from
one side of the mouth to the other, so that both sides of the jaw may
come into play. This must be an unpleasant operation for the worm,
much as its captor may enjoy it. It is uncertain whether the larger
snails are eaten by the Hedgehog, no fragments of their shells having
been found in the stomachs of specimens examined, but the smaller
species, belonging to the genera _Vitrina_ and _Zonitis_, certainly
form a portion of its diet. Mr. Bell says that “the small Slug, _Limax
agrestis_, is a favourite morsel with the Hedgehog, and is often
scratched out and eaten in the summer months when concealed in the day
in crevices, or amongst the roots of grass or other close herbage.”
The Hedgehog does not, however, confine itself exclusively to the
consumption of invertebrate prey; Frogs and Toads, Mice, and even
Snakes, are not exempt from its attacks. Mr. Broderip many years ago
published in the “Zoological Journal” an interesting account of an
experiment made by Professor Buckland to ascertain how the Hedgehog
deals with a prey apparently so formidable as a Snake. He says:--“The
Professor procured a common Snake, and also a Hedgehog, and put them
into a box together. Whether or not the former recognised its enemy
was not apparent; it did not dart from the Hedgehog, but kept creeping
gently round the box; the Hedgehog was rolled up, and did not appear
to see the Snake. The Professor then laid the Hedgehog on the Snake,
with that part of the ball where the head and tail meet downwards,
and touching it. The Snake proceeded to crawl; the Hedgehog started,
opened slightly, and seeing what was under it, gave the Snake a hard
bite, and instantly rolled itself up again. It soon opened a second and
again a third time, repeating the bite; and by the third bite the back
of the Snake was broken. This done, the Hedgehog stood by the Snake’s
side, and passed the whole body of the Snake successively through its
jaws, cracking it, and breaking the bones at intervals of half an
inch or more, by which operation the Snake was rendered motionless.
The Hedgehog then placed itself at the tip of the Snake’s tail, and
began to eat upwards, as one would eat a radish, without intermission,
but slowly, till half the Snake was devoured. The following morning
the remaining half was also completely eaten up.” According to the
statements of some observers, the Hedgehog will destroy not only the
harmless common Snake, but also the Viper, and Professor Lenz has
described in great detail the mode in which the Hedgehog disposes of
this formidable antagonist. The strange part of his account is that
the Hedgehog pursues the Viper for some time, smelling at it and
licking it, and submitting to repeated bites from the venomous reptile
before proceeding to extremities. It then kills the Viper by crushing
its head, and proceeds to devour it from that end, without showing
any signs of being injured by the poison of the Snake. This curious
immunity is said to extend also to other poisons, some of which are
at least doubtful; but it seems certain that the Hedgehog will devour
the ordinary Blister Beetles (_Cantharides_) without inconvenience,
although a very small dose of them would destroy much larger animals.
Tschudi, however, has remarked that the acrid liquid secreted by the
skin of Toads is disagreeable to the Hedgehog; in eating a Toad he rubs
his muzzle on the ground after each bite.
From the narrow point of view of usefulness to man, we may up to this
point have a very favourable opinion of the Hedgehog, but he has some
other peculiarities which may perhaps be regarded as drawbacks. One of
these is his attacking young game, and another his fondness for eggs.
One of the editors of Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” mentions an instance
of the capture of a young Hare by a Hedgehog. A Hedgehog has also been
caught in the act of worrying a young Rook which had fallen from the
nest; and the general testimony of sportsmen and gamekeepers is to the
effect that no small and young animals will come amiss to the Hedgehog.
There is also no doubt that the Hedgehog will feed on the eggs of birds
wherever it finds them; and it is even stated that it will make its way
into a fowl-house, turn the hen off her eggs, and devour the latter.
The diet of the Hedgehog does not appear to be exclusively of an
animal nature; in confinement it will feed readily on soaked bread and
on cooked vegetables, and in a natural state it is said to eat the
roots of plants and the fruits that fall from the trees in gardens
and orchards. Gilbert White says:--“The manner in which they eat the
roots of the plantain in my garden is very curious; with their upper
mandible, which is much longer than their lower, they bore under the
plant, and so eat the root off upwards, leaving the tuft of leaves
untouched.” Some writers have believed that the Hedgehog is so fond
of fruit as actually to climb the trees, knock off apples and pears,
and then throwing itself down upon them so that they may stick to
its spines, walk off quietly with its booty to some quiet retreat.
According to Ælian, the ancient Greek Hedgehogs played a somewhat
similar trick with figs.
With all this, we have not quite done with the diet, real or supposed,
of this curious little animal. It is a common belief in most parts of
England that the Hedgehogs will visit the Cows during the night and
suck their milk, leaving but a scanty supply for the milkmaid in the
morning. There seems, however, to be no satisfactory evidence of the
commission of this crime.
When disturbed in its excursions the Hedgehog has the habit of rolling
itself up into a ball, with the head and legs tucked carefully away
under the belly, and the whole exposed surface completely enclosed by
the spiny skin of the back. This is effected by the contraction of
a most complicated system of cutaneous muscles, the most important
of which, called the _orbicularis panniculi_, forming a broad band
encircling the body, draws together the edges of the spiny part of
the skin towards the centre of the ventral side of the body, thus
forming a sort of prickly bag within which the whole body and limbs
of the animal are enclosed. When thus arranged, by the action of the
cutaneous muscles the whole of the spines of the upper surface are
strongly and firmly erected, making a fence which suffices to protect
the Hedgehog from the attacks of nearly all his enemies. Scarcely any
Dogs can be found with pluck enough to make a successful attack upon a
rolled-up Hedgehog, although it is said that some Dogs and Foxes have a
trick by which to get at him, founded on the fact that a jet of water
poured into the small aperture within which the head of the animal is
concealed will cause him to unroll himself at once. The same power of
contraction serves the Hedgehog in good stead in protecting him from
other perils. If he finds himself falling down a precipice or from the
top of a wall, or down a very steep slope, he immediately makes himself
into a ball, and in this form will fall from very considerable heights
(eighteen or twenty feet) without receiving the least injury; indeed,
Hedgehogs have been observed more than once voluntarily to throw
themselves down considerable distances, contracting in this fashion. On
reaching the bottom they simply opened themselves, and walked off none
the worse for the fall.
The voice of the Hedgehog is a sound intermediate between a grunt and
a squeak; Shakespeare, as is well known, calls it “whining.” When kept
in houses for destroying insects, it is said frequently to make itself
disagreeable by its noise at night. In many places, both in England
and on the Continent, the Hedgehog is eaten, but chiefly, it is said,
by gipsies and tramps. The mode of cooking adopted, we believe, is
roasting the animal in his skin, and the flesh is generally said to be
excellent. According to M. Cherblanc, the French gipsies envelop the
Hedgehogs in a sort of paste of clay, and then cook them over the fire,
turning them from time to time until the clay is quite dry and hard,
when the roast is considered to be perfect. This earthen envelope is
then broken and removed, carrying the spines with it.
Notwithstanding their formidable armour, the Hedgehogs have other
enemies besides man. Dogs will attack them, but not often with success,
unless we may believe in their employing the _ruse_ already alluded
to, which is also said to have suggested itself to the cunning mind
of Reynard. But the Foxes are said to adopt another mode of dealing
with their wished-for prey. When they meet with a rolled-up Hedgehog
they will, it is said, roll him along till they come to some water,
into which they drop the unfortunate little animal, and then seize him
during his struggles to escape drowning. On the continent of Europe
the Great Horned Owl or Eagle Owl (_Bubo maximus_) is described as an
inveterate enemy of the Hedgehog.
The female Hedgehog goes with young about seven weeks. Before bringing
her progeny into the world, she selects some more or less sheltered
situation in a hedge-bottom or thicket, or sometimes in a corn-field,
in which she constructs a nest of moss and leaves, so well put
together, that even when otherwise unprotected, its roof suffices
to throw off the rain. The young, which vary in number from three to
seven or eight, are, when first born, about three inches long, white,
blind, and quite naked, except that they already possess the rudiments
of their spines, which are then quite soft and flexible. In about
four-and-twenty hours the spines have grown to a length of one-sixth
of an inch, and acquired some hardness. The young animals, according
to Gilbert White, have little hanging ears, and he adds that “they
can in part draw their skin down over their faces, but are not able
to contract themselves into a ball.” In about a month the young have
acquired nearly the colour of their parents, and are then taken out by
the mother to feed, although she still suckles them for a time.
In captivity, if kindly treated, the Hedgehog soon becomes familiar.
He takes readily to almost any diet, and, according to Dr. Ball, he
will even partake of intoxicating liquors, which, curiously enough,
seem to have the effect of making him immediately quite tame, after
passing through a period of inebriety, during which his gestures and
proceedings have a most ludicrous resemblance to those of a drunken man.
THE LONG-EARED HEDGEHOG.[262]
This species has the ears much larger and the muzzle longer than in the
Common Hedgehog, and its legs also are longer and not so stout. The
tail is very short. The spines, which are marked with from twenty to
twenty-two little furrows, are white at the base, brown in the middle,
and yellowish at the tip; the head is covered with hair of a dirty
whitish colour; and on each side of the mouth there are four rows of
long brown whiskers. This animal is only about two-thirds the size
of the European Hedgehog. It is found in the western part of Asiatic
Russia, especially about the Caspian, in Tartary, and Siberia. It does
not occur in Persia, according to Mr. Blanford, although included by
Schmarda in his list of the animals of Mesopotamia. It inhabits the
province of Astrakhan, in south Russia, which makes it a European
species. Very little is known of the habits of the Long-eared Hedgehog,
but from that little it would appear to agree in most, if not all
respects, with its European relative.
Several other species of Hedgehogs have been described, the majority of
them from the Asiatic continent, reaching even to the district of the
Amoor, from which Schrenck described one under the name of _Erinaceus
amurensis_, which is supposed by Mr. Bell to be a variety of the Common
Hedgehog. Mr. Blanford describes a peculiar Persian species with
large ears and long spines (_E. macracanthus_). and Mr. Blyth another
from Candahar (_E. megalotis_). Several Indian species are noticed by
various authors, and some of these seem to be widely distributed, such
as
THE COLLARED HEDGEHOG,[263]
whose range extends from Madras to Candahar and Afghanistan. It is
about eight or nine inches long, and has the spines irregularly
interwoven, ringed with white and black, with the tips yellow, of
simply white and black, or black with a white ring in the middle; the
ears, which are tolerably large, and the chin, are white; and the belly
and legs pale brown.
Of this, and two other species observed by him in Candahar, Captain
Hutton says:--“They are nocturnal, and during the day conceal
themselves in holes, or in the tufts of high jungle grass. Their food
consists of insects, chiefly of a small Beetle, which is abundant on
the sandy tracts of Bhawlpore, and belongs to the genus _Blaps_. They
also feed on Lizards and Snails. When touched they have the habit
of suddenly jerking up the back with some force, so as to prick the
fingers or mouth of the assailant, and at the same time emitting a
blowing sound, not unlike the noise produced when blowing upon a flame
with a pair of bellows.” They have as complete a power of rolling
themselves into a ball as the European Hedgehog.
One species of the genus, the Concolorous Hedgehog (_E. concolor_),
appears to be peculiar to Asia Minor; others are found in Egypt,
Algeria, the Sahara, and other parts of North Africa; and two are
recorded from the Cape of Good Hope.
THE BULAU.[264]
We shall find, as we advance with our examination of the Insectivorous
Mammals, that the characters presented by these creatures, especially
in their anatomical structure, are in many instances so curiously
combined that it becomes a matter of considerable difficulty to decide
to what particular family a given animal should be referred, the
external and structural peculiarities often pointing in two different
directions, but generally tending in a remarkable manner in these
anomalous forms towards the great family of the Shrews, which may be
regarded as the central types of the whole order. This is the case with
the Bulau (_Gymnura Rafflesii_), a curious animal which was originally
discovered in Sumatra by Sir Stamford Raffles, and described by him
as a Civet, under the name of _Viverra gymnura_. Vigors and Horsfield
in England, and Lesson in France, recognised its distinctness from
the Civets, and formed it into a separate genus under the name of
_Gymnura_, designating the species after its discoverer, and this name
has been generally adopted, although De Blainville afterwards proposed
to call the genus _Echinosorex_, and to retain Raffles’ specific name.
[Illustration: BULAU.]
De Blainville’s name may be taken to express in general terms the
peculiar characters of the animal, which is a Hedgehog-like Shrew, or
a Shrew-like Hedgehog, the latter being the more correct term. The
Bulau, as Professor Gervais says, is “a Hedgehog, with the body, and
especially the head, more elongated than in those already described,
with flexible hairs, and furnished with a tail which is nearly naked,
and as long as the body.” It has also a larger number of teeth, there
being forty-four in all, namely, on each side, in each jaw, three
incisors, one canine (that in the upper jaw with two roots), and
seven premolars and molars which closely resemble those of the true
Hedgehogs. On the back few stiff bristles are mingled with the softer
hairs, as if to give a sort of indication of the animal’s relationship
to the Hedgehogs; but it has no power of rolling itself up into a ball.
[Illustration:
1. TENDRAC. 2. TELFAIR’S TENDRAC. 3. TANREC.
]
The Bulau has a long, round, tapering, scaly tail, almost like that
of a Rat, but with a greater number of scattered stiff hairs among
the scales. Its head is long, and its muzzle produced into a short
proboscis. Its legs are rather short, and its feet, which are adapted
to plantigrade progression, are furnished with five toes, each armed
with a curved and pointed claw. The general colour of the body and
limbs is black or greyish-black, with the head and neck pale or
whitish, and with a black streak over each eye; the tail is blackish
at the base, whitish at the tip. The length of the Bulau is about
twenty-six inches, of which the tail occupies twelve. Besides Sumatra,
this curious animal, which may be regarded as a connecting link between
the Hedgehogs and the Shrews, has been met with in the peninsula of
Malacca, and in Borneo, and the neighbouring island of Sarawak. The
specimens from Sarawak and the mainland of Borneo opposite Labuan are
said by Dr. Günther to be all white, with only a portion of the longest
and strongest hairs on the body black. Of the habits of the Bulau
nothing appears to be recorded.
Professor Gill is inclined to place that almost equally curious animal,
_Hylomys suillus_ (see p. 350), in juxtaposition with the Bulau.
FAMILY V.--CENTETIDÆ, OR TANRECS.
The animals of this family usually have the back more or less armed
with fine spines or bristles among the softer hair, the legs short,
the feet five-toed, plantigrade, and the tail very short or altogether
wanting, except in one anomalous genus. They are all furnished
with external ears. The skull is rather elongated, approximately
cylindrical, and has no zygomatic arches. The tympanic bone does not
form a bubble-like protuberance; and the molar teeth are narrow, and
form more or less regular triangular prisms. The number of teeth
is variable. The clavicles (collar-bones) are well developed; the
two bones of the shank (_tibia_ and _fibula_) are separate; and the
intestine has no cæcum.
With the single exception of the curious genus _Solenodon_, the
position of which was long regarded as very doubtful, but which is now
placed in this family, the Centetidæ are confined to the Madagascar
region, which bears so many other peculiar types of animals. Their food
appears to consist chiefly of worms and insects, but doubtless, like
their relations the Hedgehogs, they will seize upon any small animal
that comes in their way. The species are not numerous.
THE TANREC.[265]
The Tanrec, or Tangue, which is the best-known species of the family,
is entirely destitute of tail. It has a long, pointed muzzle, small
ears, and short legs; the five-toed feet are armed with strong claws,
and the body is not capable of being contracted into a ball; the angle
of the lower jaw is slightly bent inwards; and the teeth are forty in
number, there being on each side, in each jaw, three incisors, one
canine, three premolars, and three true molars. The canines, both above
and below, are of exceedingly large size; those of the lower jaw are
received into deep pits in the sides of the intermaxillary bone; while
those of the upper jaw project downwards on each side of time lower
jaw. These are the characters of the genus _Centetes_.
[Illustration: DENTITION OF TANREC.]
The Tanrec (its figure will be seen in Plate 11) measures about fifteen
or sixteen inches in length, of which nearly one-third is made up by
the elongated head. Its body is covered with a mixture of bristles,
hairs, and more or less flexible spines, the latter being especially
strong about the nape and sides of the neck, where they measure about
one-fifth of an inch in length, and form a sort of crest or collar. The
spines are longer and more flexible on the body, where they are mixed
with bristles, which prevail especially on the back, and these measure
sometimes as much as two inches long. The belly and limbs are clothed
with short hair. All these dermal appendages are yellowish, with the
middle brown, giving the animal a general tawny colour, which is paler
or yellowish on the limbs. The face is brownish and the long whiskers
which spring from each side of the muzzle are of a dark brown colour.
This is the general coloration of the species, which, however, varies
occasionally. The young are said to be brown with yellow longitudinal
streaks, which disappear with age.
This animal occurs abundantly not only in Madagascar, but also in the
small islands of Nossi-falie, Nossi-bé, and St. Marie, and it has been
introduced into Mayotte, Réunion, and the Mauritius. It passes one-half
of the year in a state of torpidity, and this not in the hot season,
as has been supposed, but in the colder part of the year. About May
or June the Tanrecs dig themselves holes, in which they sleep until
December, with their heads comfortably tucked away between the hind
legs. Their burrows are generally betrayed by the presence of a small
heap of earth or moss thrown up at the entrance, and as the animals are
at this time very fat, and regarded as great delicacies by the natives
of Madagascar and the Creoles of Réunion, they are then pursued with
great avidity. Their flesh is said by some people to be preferable
to Sucking-pig; but others complain that it has a musky flavour. In
Madagascar the inhabitants hunt the Tanrecs with Dogs trained expressly
for the purpose.
The number destroyed for food seems to be very great; but the
fecundity of the animal is such as to compensate even for this violent
persecution. The female is said to produce from twelve to sixteen young
at a birth, and she is described as taking the greatest care of her
progeny. As soon as the young Tanrecs can run about, she takes them
with her in search of food, and will then defend them bravely against
every danger, allowing herself to be killed rather than be separated
from her family.
The Tanrecs--or Tangues, as they are called by M. Pollen--live chiefly
in the mountains, in places covered with mosses, ferns, and bushes.
Their food consists principally of earthworms, which they rout out by
means of their feet and pointed snouts, using the latter after the
fashion of a Pig. Insects also form a part of their diet; and, like
the Hedgehog, they are said to feed upon certain fruits and roots.
In captivity they will eat raw meat, and are also said to be fond of
bananas. Their habits are nocturnal; they sleep nearly all the day, and
come forth in full activity only at night.
Several other supposed species of this genus have been described, but
only one of them appears to be really distinct, namely, the Streaked
Tanrec (_C. semispinosus_), which is described as about the size of a
Mole, and streaked with black and yellow. It also inhabits Madagascar.
It forms the genus _Hemicentetes_ of Professor Mivart.
THE TENDRAC.[266]
An animal much more like a Hedgehog than the preceding, having the
body covered with spines almost as formidable as those of the Common
Hedgehog, and also possessing the power of rolling itself into a ball,
is the Tendrac of Madagascar (its figure will be seen in Plate 11). It
has been formed into a separate genus (_Ericulus_), distinguished by
the above peculiarities, by the presence of only two pairs of incisor
teeth in each jaw, by its canine teeth possessing two roots and a
second small cusp to the crown, and by its possession of a short tail
like that of the Hedgehog. The total number of teeth is thirty-six.
The Tendrac is about one-third less than our Common Hedgehog, which it
closely resembles in appearance, and in the form of its muzzle, ears,
tail, and feet. Its general tint is blackish, its spines being black,
with the tips white or reddish. In its habits it resembles the Tanrec.
Telfair’s Tendrac (_Echinops Telfairi_) is another little Hedgehog-like
inhabitant of Madagascar, where, according to Mr. Telfair, its
discoverer, it goes by the native name of _Sokinah_ (its figure will
be seen in Plate 11). In its general characters it closely resembles
_Ericulus_, but has only two premolars on each side in each jaw, and
the two intermediate upper incisors are much longer than the others.
It is the only known species of its genus. Its length is about five
inches; it has a short pointed snout, a very short tail, and ears of
moderate size, and rounded; its colour above is brownish, and beneath
dingy white, and the upper surface is thickly covered with sharp
spines, which are whitish at the base, and chestnut brown at the tips.
All the feet are five-toed.
THE RICE TENDRIL.[267]
In 1870, M. Grandidier described a small Tendrac which he had obtained
at Ankaye and Antsianak in Madagascar, and which he says inflicts
enormous injury upon the rice-crops, by burrowing in the earth, and
rooting up the young plants. The native name, “valavou fontsi,” is
said to refer to this destructive habit of the animal, and, we
presume, has the same meaning as the name given by M. Grandidier to the
genus which he established for it.
The Rice Tendrac has the snout produced into a short trunk, at the
extremity of which the nostrils are situated. The eyes are very small,
and the ears rounded and of moderate size. The teeth are forty in
number, as in the Tanrec. The animal is plantigrade; the hind feet have
five, and the fore feet four toes, and those of the latter are armed
with very strong curved claws, which are doubtless of great service in
the burrowing operations alluded to above.
The Rice Tendrac is of a greyish-brown colour. Its tail is short,
clothed with long hairs at the base, but naked in the last two thirds,
which exhibit a ringed appearance. It must be abundant in Madagascar,
but M. Grandidier records nothing of its habits beyond the charge he
makes of injury to the rice-crops. This is no doubt effected by the
animal when burrowing in pursuit of insects and worms.
THE EARED EARTH SHREW.[268]
The curious series of animals included under the family Centetidæ is
united in a remarkable, manner by the intervention of a little creature
about the size of a Mouse, discovered in Madagascar, and described by
MM. A. Milne-Edwards and Grandidier under the name of _Geogale aurita_.
At the first glance it might be taken for a true Shrew. It has a long
head, although the snout is not prolonged, the nostrils open at the
sides of the nose; the mouth is large, the ears are of large size,
membranous, and naked, and apparently capable of folding up at the will
of the animal so as to close the aperture of the ear, and the tail,
which is shorter than the body, is covered with a finely-ringed skin,
over which are scattered very short brownish hairs. These characters,
as is remarked by the describers, give the animal somewhat the aspect
of a little Opossum. The teeth are thirty-four in number; there appear
to be six incisors in each jaw; the canines are very small, and the
molars especially resemble those of _Solenodon_.
This little animal has the upper part of the body and head rather
thinly covered with short greyish hairs, and the lower parts
greyish-white. The sides of the muzzle bear long, brownish moustaches.
Specimens were obtained in two localities in Madagascar (Mouroundava
and Tullear), and in both cases they were found in the ground disturbed
by pulling up the posts of a palisade, so that it may be inferred that
this species hunts worms and larvæ in the earth, an operation in which
the faculty of folding the external ears over their orifice would
certainly be useful to it.
THE AGOUTA.[269]
Several years ago (in 1833) Professor Brandt, of St. Petersburg,
described a singular animal from St. Domingo, which was particularly
interesting, both as being the only known representative of the
Insectivorous Mammalia in the tropical regions of America, and also
on account of its own extraordinary character. It was an animal of
about the size of a small Rabbit, the head and body measuring about
a foot in length, but the muzzle was drawn out into a sort of trunk
or proboscis, at the sides of which, near the tip, the nostrils were
situated; the body terminated behind in a naked, rat-like tail, rather
more than eight inches in length; whilst the feet, which were decidedly
plantigrade, and each furnished with five toes, had the latter armed
with curved, compressed claws of formidable dimensions, especially
on the fore feet. The dentition clearly showed the animal to be
insectivorous, but its characters were so peculiar that Brandt seems to
have regarded it as a sort of intermediate form between the Shrews and
the Marsupial Opossums.
Subsequent investigations have shown that, odd as this animal may be,
its place is undoubtedly among the true Insectivora; and Professor
Peters, of Berlin, by a consideration of its characters, and especially
of those of the skeleton, arrived at the conclusion that it is most
nearly related to the Tanrecs of Madagascar, widely separated as that
land is from the West Indian home of the Agouta.
Professor Brandt established a distinct genus for the reception of the
animal described by him, which he called _Solenodon paradoxus_--the
generic name referring to the peculiar channelled structure of the
outer incisors in the lower jaw--the specific name to the paradoxical
nature of the animal itself. Professor Peters’ interpretation of
the dentition, which was long a subject of doubt, is now generally
accepted, and according to this, there are in the front of the upper
jaw two large, acute incisors, with a smaller one placed a little
further back on each side; and in the middle of the lower jaw two very
small incisors, with immediately on each side of them one of the large
canine-like teeth, with a deep groove or channel on the inner surface,
which have already been alluded to. Behind these teeth come in each jaw
a canine, four premolars, and three true molars, so that the dental
formula, according to this view, is--incisors, (1–2–1)/(4), canines,
(1–1)/(1–1), premolars, (4–4)/(4–4), and molars, (3–3)/(3–3), making
forty teeth in all.
The premaxillary bones extend some little distance in front of the
roots of the upper incisor teeth, but the nose itself is prolonged
considerably beyond them, forming a long, slender proboscis. The eyes
are small, and the ears of moderate size, and rounded; the body is
covered with rather stiff hairs, which, however, leave the hinder part,
from the root of the tail downwards, almost naked; the tail is long,
tapering, and ringed, with a few scattered, very short hairs; the legs
are of moderate length, and the feet, all of which have five toes, are
nearly naked, or covered only with short hair.
[Illustration: THE AGOUTA.]
The Agouta, or _Solenodon_ of St. Domingo, has the face, head, and
upper parts brown, becoming blackish behind and on the thighs; the
sides of the head and neck lighter brown, with a mixture of red and
grey; the belly and feet tawny brown; the breast bright rust colour;
and the tail greyish towards the base, and white towards the tip.
Of the habits of this animal, long supposed to be the only species of
its genus, nothing is recorded; but its teeth very clearly indicate a
carnivorous or insectivorous diet, and its habits, in all probability,
resemble those of the following species.
THE ALMIQUI.[270]
In 1838, or nearly five years after the publication of Professor
Brandt’s description of the preceding animal, Professor Poey, of
Havana, detected the existence of a _Solenodon_ in some of the
mountainous parts of the island of Cuba. He identified it with Brandt’s
species, and noticed it under the name of _Solenodon paradoxus_, in
his “Natural History of Cuba,” which appeared in 1851. Later, however,
Professor Peters, having procured a specimen from Cuba, and compared it
with the one from St. Domingo in the museum at St. Petersburg, found
that the two animals were quite distinct, and described the Almiqui of
Professor Poey under the name of _Solenodon cubanus_.
The Cuban animal is of nearly the same size as that from St. Domingo,
measuring in a straight line from the point of the nose to the root
of the tail a little more than eleven inches. Of this the head makes
about 4⅔ inches. The stout, scaly tail is 7⅗ inches in length.
The hairs of the general surface of the body are very long, and form a
sort of cloak for the animal, leaving its hinder part bare in a very
singular manner. The colours are rather different in the Cuban species.
The whole of the head, the neck, the chest, and the sides of the belly
are tawny or yellowish, and the rest of the body, a streak on the nape
of the neck, and another in the middle of the belly, are brown or
blackish-brown. The legs are clothed with hair like that on the body,
but shorter; and the upper surface of the feet has a scanty covering of
short hairs which allow the skin to appear through them, and even this
ceases towards the extremities of the toes. The teats in both species
are situated on the groin.
The Cuban _Solenodon_ is found in the mountains near Trinidad and
Bayamo, in the southern and western parts of the island of Cuba. It
is a nocturnal animal, coming forth late in the afternoon or in the
evening, and amusing itself with various gambols during the night.
It appears to be a predaceous animal, and in captivity shows signs
of great excitement when a fowl or other animal passes by its cage.
According to one observer, it will tear a chicken to pieces in a moment
with its strong claws. At sight of a possible prey the long hair of its
body stands on end. When sleeping during the day it seeks some corner
in which it can stow away its head, and seems then to think that it is
in a place of security, for when pursued it takes refuge in a shelter
of the same kind, and will remain there until it is captured by seizing
its tail. When disturbed in its repose it expresses its displeasure by
grunting; and its ordinary voice, which is said to be very penetrating,
is described as something between the grunt of a Pig and the cry of a
bird. When enjoying itself at night it sometimes hoots like an Owl.
The occurrence of these two animals in the large West Indian islands
is an exceedingly remarkable fact in the geographical distribution of
animals, when we consider that in the general opinion of zoologists
their nearest relations are the Tanrecs of Madagascar, and the
_Potamogale_ or River Shrew of some West African rivers. Professor
Peters indeed remarks that the circumstance is the less surprising,
as a certain type of Iguanidæ, otherwise peculiar to America, is
represented in Madagascar, where also are found species belonging
to two American genera of Snakes. But this does not explain the
phenomenon. Mr. Andrew Murray maintains that the relationship of
_Solenodon_ is rather with the Shrews than with the present family,
and, in fact, that they are peculiar and gigantic Shrews, which would
certainly lessen the difficulty, seeing that there are plenty of
Shrews in North America; but his arguments are by no means conclusive.
Mr. Wallace, alluding to the occurrence in Europe of fossil remains
referred to the Centetidæ, regards this as a case of a type formerly
very widely distributed being now broken up, and represented only at or
near the two extremities of its greatest range.
FAMILY VI.--POTAMOGALIDÆ.
This family includes only a single species, so that its characters may
be indicated as part of the description of the animal itself, namely:--
THE WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW.[271]
[Illustration: UPPER JAW OF WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW.
(_From Transactions, Zool. Soc._)]
This was originally described by its discoverer, M. Du Chaillu, as a
Carnivore, under the name of _Cynogale velox_, but as its characters
were very doubtful, the name _Potamogale_, was suggested for it in
case of its proving to belong to a distinct genus. The late Dr. Gray
described it as a Rodent under the name of _Mythomys_. Some years later
Professor Allman and Professor Barboza du Bocage procured perfect
specimens, and proved the animal to belong to the Insectivora, the
latter naturalist describing it under the new name of _Bayonia velox_.
Thus within a few years it received no less than three different names.
[Illustration: LOWER JAW OF WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW. (From _Trans.
Zool. Soc._)]
When the Insectivorous nature of Du Chaillu’s River Shrew was
ascertained, it was found to be most nearly allied to the Centetidæ
or Tanrecs, with special affinities to the West Indian Solenodons. It
is, however, generally regarded as constituting a distinct family,
characterised among other things by the less cylindrical skull, the
absence of clavicles, the union of the two bones of the shank towards
the extremity, the presence of anal glands, and the compressed form
of the tail. The teeth, as in the true Tanrecs, are forty in number,
but the molars differ considerably in form, as will be seen from the
annexed figures.
[Illustration: WEST AFRICAN RIVER SHREW. (From the _Transactions of the
Zoological Society._)]
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.”
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.
[Illustration: SKULL OF GOLDEN MOLE.]
[Illustration: DENTITION OF GOLDEN MOLE.]
These animals have a cylindrical body, clothed with a fine, close fur,
usually exhibiting a metallic lustre which has been compared to that
presented by the feathers of some of the most brilliant birds. They
have a conical head, short limbs, a very short, almost rudimentary
tail, minute eyes, actually covered by the skin, and no external ears.
From the form of the body, the texture of the hair, and the structure
of the limbs, they are as evidently organised for burrowing underground
as the Moles, with which they have generally been associated; but the
structure of the mechanism by which their burrowing is effected is so
different that, taken in conjunction with certain other characters, it
has led modern zoologists to regard the Golden Moles, notwithstanding
their scanty numbers, as constituting a perfectly distinct family of
the Insectivora.
The skull is shorter, more wedge-shaped, and more elevated at the back
than in the true Moles, and the premaxillary bones form a process which
is curiously turned outwards (see figure, p. 365), but this does not
run to the extremity of the snout, which is supported by cartilages.
The dentition is very peculiar. The total number of teeth is either
thirty-six or forty, one species having two molars less in each jaw
than the others; the front upper pair are large and pyramidal in form,
presenting some resemblance to the corresponding teeth in the Desmans;
these are followed on each side by three minute teeth, and these again
by five or six true molars, of prismatic form. In the lower jaw there
are two pairs of front teeth, followed on each side by three small
pointed teeth (premolars), and by four or five true molars.
[Illustration: STERNUM OF GOLDEN MOLE.]
[Illustration: FORE-FOOT OF GOLDEN MOLE. (_After Owen._)]
The structure of the anterior limb, and of the parts which support
it, is peculiar and characteristic, differing materially from that
which obtains in the true Moles. In the sternum there are seven
similar pieces, which receive the extremities of ribs, and behind
these a semi-cartilaginous piece, called the ensiform (or sword-like)
appendage. In front of the rib-receiving pieces is a large bone (the
_manubrium_), excavated on each side behind to receive the ends of
the collar-bones, and furnished along its lower surface with a ridge
serving for the attachment of a part of the powerful muscles by which
the fore limbs are moved. The form of this part is very different from
that of the corresponding piece in the Mole (see p. 368). The form
and mode of articulation of the collar-bones (clavicles) is also very
different. In the True Moles the clavicle is a short, thick bone,
almost resembling the vertebra of a fish; in the Golden Moles it is a
longer and more slender bone, of ordinary form, and articulated after
an ordinary fashion, both with the sternum and the shoulder-blade. The
latter bone is larger than in the Mole, and has a very strong spine,
which projects far beyond the articulation of the humerus (arm-bone).
The humerus itself is a more slender bone than in the Mole, and more
of the ordinary form, although it has a very strong tuberosity near
the lower extremity; and one of the carpal bones (the pisiform) is
most unusually developed, passing up alongside of the bones of the
fore-arm (radius and ulna), until it reaches the humerus. The fore
foot is quite different in its construction from that of the Mole. The
latter consists of five toes, armed with large flat claws, and forms
a shovel-like organ, turned outwards in a peculiar manner. The fore
foot of the Golden Mole has only four digits, of which the inner and
outer ones (I. and IV. in figure) are small, while the second and third
toes (II. and III.) are large and armed with very large claws; the
claw-joint of the third, especially, being of enormous size, and cleft
nearly to its base. With this powerful instrument the Golden Mole digs
his way very readily through the ground, using his hind feet, which
have five toes, and much resemble those of ordinary Moles, to push him
forward in his burrows.
THE CAPE GOLDEN MOLE.[272]
The Cape Golden Mole is about the size of our Common Mole, or a little
more than five inches in length. The colour of its fur is brown, but
according as the light falls upon it it shows brilliant golden and
iridescent green and purple reflections; a patch round the eye and a
streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth are yellowish-brown; and
the throat has a greenish tinge. The claws are of a light brown colour.
The Golden Mole inhabits the Cape of Good Hope and Caffraria, where it
feeds, like our British Mole, upon insects and worms, which it captures
by burrowing through the ground. In the settled districts it is as
much disliked as the Mole in Europe, on account of the damage which
it does in fields and gardens by its subterranean activity. Several
South African forms, nearly related to the above, but differing more
or less in the colour and texture of the hair, have been described as
distinct species by various zoologists; but these are now regarded as
mere varieties of _Chrysochloris capensis_, which has also received
the names of _aurea_ and _inaurata_. Besides these, Dr. Günther has
described a species from Caffraria, under the name of _C. Trevelyani_,
which has the fur brownish and not lustrous, and also presents some
minor differences of structure. The Blunt-nosed Golden Mole (_C.
obtusirostris_) of Professor Peters, from Mozambique and Caffraria,
which has a lustrous coat, has one molar less on each side in each
jaw, so that the whole number of teeth is only thirty-six, and hence,
and from some peculiarities in the structure of the lower molars,
and the absence of a bladder-like enlargement in the temporal fossa,
which occurs in the other species, Professor Mivart has placed it in a
distinct genus, under the name of _Chalcochloris_.
FAMILY VIII.--TALPIDÆ, OR MOLES.
The True Moles constitute a very distinct family of Insectivora,
characterised more especially by their complete organisation for a
subterranean life. They have a more or less cylindrical body, with
short limbs, of which the front pair are converted into most powerful
digging organs, the construction of which will be noticed in the
description of our common British species. The head is small, with the
muzzle produced and generally pointed, and the eyes and ears concealed,
the former being generally almost covered by a membrane; the skull
is elongated, rather flat, with a distinct, thin zygomatic arch; the
bones of the shank (_tibia_ and _fibula_) are united; the wrist has
a sickle-shaped bone on the inside, which passes to and helps to
support the first digit; and the intestine has no cæcum. The teeth vary
somewhat in number.
The Moles usually form a subterranean dwelling which exhibits
considerable ingenuity in its construction, and live upon worms, the
larvæ of insects, and other small animals which they capture whilst
making their way beneath the surface of the ground. They inhabit the
northern half of both hemispheres, not a single species being known to
occur south of the Equator. The best known species, whose history may
serve as a type of that of the family, is
THE COMMON MOLE.[273]
The Common Mole of Great Britain, although an animal not very often
seen, is yet so well known as regards its general appearance that we
need hardly describe it. It has a plump, nearly cylindrical body, with
very short limbs, a short tail, and a long, pointed muzzle. The eyes
are so minute as to escape observation; the external ears are wanting;
the body is covered with a velvet-like coat of hairs of a black or
blackish-brown colour, with more or less of a whitish tinge in certain
lights; and the feet, which are naked, are flesh-coloured. The total
length of the animal is usually about six inches, of which not more
than half an inch is made up by the tail.
[Illustration: COMMON MOLE.]
The Common Mole occurs not only in the British Islands, but across the
whole of the central and southern parts of the continent of Europe,
extending northwards as far as the southern shore of the Baltic and
throughout Denmark, thus justifying Shakspere’s allusion to it in
“Hamlet.” It also stretches across Central Asia to the confines of
China, and according to some writers extends through Persia into India.
It is subject to much variation, which may be due to differences of
soil or climate. Thus Mr. Bell records Moles “of a deep black colour,
of a mouse-grey, dark olive-brown, pied, yellowish-white, and wholly
or partially orange;” and mentions specimens from Berne “of the usual
dark-colour, but having a well-defined lozenge-shaped patch of orange
on the breast.”
[Illustration: DENTITION OF COMMON MOLE.]
The Common Mole is the type of the restricted genus _Talpa_, the
species of which are entirely confined to Europe and Asia. In these
animals the elongated muzzle projects considerably beyond the opening
of the mouth, and contains a pair of long tubular nostrils; it is
supported by cartilage, and further strengthened by a small bone at the
extreme tip. The teeth with which the jaws are armed are of formidable
character, and plainly indicate the predaceous habits of the animal.
There are always three true molars on each side in each jaw, and these
are armed with several strong points united by ridges, but the number
of the other teeth is slightly variable (the total number of teeth
ranging between forty and forty-four), and even the determination of
their precise nature is somewhat obscure. The dentition of the Common
Mole (see figure) is now, however, generally regarded as follows: In
the upper jaw, on each side, three incisors, one large canine provided
with two roots, and four premolars, of which the hindmost is of
large size; in the lower jaw, on each side, four incisor-like teeth,
the hindmost of which is probably a canine, and four premolars, the
foremost of which is very like a canine. The variation in number is
caused by the absence of some of the premolars and incisors of the
lower jaw.
[Illustration: FORE-LIMBS OF COMMON MOLE.]
[Illustration: STERNUM OF COMMON MOLE.]
The structure of the fore-limbs, and the bones supporting them, in
the Mole and its allies, is not only to be regarded as their most
distinctive character, but also as furnishing a most striking example
of the adaptation of means to ends. The Moles are condemned to live
almost constantly underground, and their very existence depends on the
facility with which they can make their way through the earth. The
fore-feet, by means of which they dig, are accordingly converted into
strong, broad, shovel-like organs, armed with broad, flat claws. The
five toes of which these feet are composed consist each of two short
joints and a long one, the latter making nearly half the length of the
organ; and these long joints, which support the claws, are cleft at the
tip and grooved underneath to receive an internal process of the nail,
which serves to add to its strength and firmness. The bones of the
wrist are short and firmly packed together, and from the scaphoid bone
springs a long curved falciform bone (_f_ in figure), which runs from
the wrist to the first toe, which it helps materially to stiffen and
support. The arm which supports this powerful hand is also of peculiar
construction. In the forearm (_a_) the radius and ulna are distinct,
but the acromion (or elbow) process of the latter is very long, and
widened at the extremity, giving great power to the action of the limb.
The humerus (_b_) is quite different from anything to be met with
elsewhere in the Mammalia, being a short and very stout bone, rendered
most irregular in its outline by the development of great crests and
processes. It not only articulates with the shoulder-blade, but has a
separate surface for the reception of the extremity of the collar-bone
(_c_), which is a short bone resembling the vertebra of a fish. The
shoulder-blade (_d_) is long and narrow, but stout and triangular in
its form.