De spitsmuizen (Soricidae) van Tegelen

The Soricidae (Insectivora, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene deposits at Tegelen (province of Limburg, The Netherlands) are the subject of the present paper. The article is roughly to be divided into three parts. In the first, general part, the morphology of shrews is outlined. Especially the most important characteristics of the dentition and the mandible are described. It is followed by a short survey of the fauna from Tegelen. In the second part, the four shrew species from Tegelen are described. They are: Sorex (Drepanosorex) praearaneus, Sorex minutus, Petenyia hungarica and Beremendia fissidens. Their most distinctive features are outlined in order to facilitate identification. In the third part, the paleoecology of the deposits at Tegelen is reconstructed and compared with two approximately contemporaneous localities in Hungary, viz. Villány 3 and Osztramos 3/2. The use of Soricidae in paleoecology is outlined; they seem not as useless as is often thought.