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Show 8 DR. J. ANDERSON ON MAMMALS, REPTILES, [Jan. 5, has recorded it from Batna, 3350 ft., on the high plateaux immediately to the north of Biskra, and he has mentioned specimens from the region of the Tunisian Chotts, Feriana and Djebel Bou-Hedma, Tunisia, but none so far from the east as Duirat. The female from Biskra I had alive in m y possession from the 17th April until the 22nd May. I brought it alive to Switzerland, but, after it had been eight days in Europe, it died, possibly from eating food unsuited to it. In Algeria, but more especially in Tunis, I experienced no difficulty in obtaining house-flies wherewith to feed it, and on which it throve, but, on m y arrival in Europe, these insects were so scarce that I had first to offer it the larvae on which bird-fanciers feed small insectivorous birds. These it ate for a day or two, but, as it afterwards refused to touch them, I had next to try it with small cockroaches. These, however, did not appear to agree with it, and in two days more it was dead. It was very expert in catching flies, and as it never attempted to jump off any great height, I used to place it on a table, covered with a white cloth, and to scatter maimed flies over the table. When it once caught sight of a fly it made a rapid rush at it, the mobile proboscis touched the fly, and it disappeared, the Shrew seldom allowing one to escape. The tongue is remarkably long, exceeding the length of the snout, on the under surface of which there is a well-marked groove along which possibly the tongue is projected, assisting in the seizure of the insect prey. In its natural haunts, the proboscis is probably introduced into crevices where insects lurk. It was so tame that it was generally placed on the breakfast table, on which it ran perfectly at home, occasionally picking up minute hard crumbs from the outsides of " croissants" or fragments of biscuits. It used also to lap milk freely from a spoon, returning every now and again to do so, and, if it had had its own way, it would have gorged itself with butter, but with disastrous effects, as a small quantity acted on it as a laxative. Its great delight while on the table was to get under a covert of some kind, and to run from one shelter to another, now and again darting out suddenly when it saw a fly. It never attempted to bite, and it seemed to enjoy being held in the hands, the heat and cover afforded by them being grateful to it. In this position it would remain for a long time, making no effort to move. Its sense of hearing was acute, more especially to sharp sounds, any shrill call at once startling it, whereas dull sounds it seemed to heed but little. With regard to its vision, I m a y mention that while it had a keen eye for small objects in motion, I could wave m y arms in front of it, a few feet off, without scaring it. Its movements were extremely rapid, and in ordinary progression it never jumped, but was projected forwards, so to speak, in short runs, ever and anon stopping abruptly to look about. |