190 EDENTATA. . 
of the scuta of the face, with the usual minor variations in cranial proportions, are the 
grounds on which he separated his 7’. leptorhyncha”?. An examination of many specimens 
convinces me that these slight differences in shield-arrangement and skull-proportions 
cannot be depended on; and I must therefore regard the Nine-banded Armadillo of 
Central America as specifically identical with that of Brazil, its range thus extending 
from Texas to Paraguay. 
This Armadillo was first described as a Mexican animal by Hernandez under its Aztec 
name Ayotochtli, and it was well known to the older voyagers. Dampier gives the 
following characteristic account :— 
“The Armadillo (so called from its Suit of Armour) is as big as a small sucking Pig: 
The Body of it pretty long. This Creature is inclosed in a thick Shell, which guards 
all its Back, and comes down on both Sides, and meets under the Belly, leaving room 
for the four Legs; the Head is small, with a Nose like a Pig, a pretty long Neck, and 
can put out its Head before its Body when it walks; but on any danger she puts it in 
under the Shell; and drawing in her Feet, she lies stock-still like a Land-Turtle: And 
though you toss her about she will not move herself. The Shell is jointed in the Middle 
of the Back; so that she can turn the Fore-part of her Body about which way she 
pleases. The Feet are like those of a Land-Turtle, and it has strong Claws wherewith 
it digs holes in the Ground like a Coney, the flesh is very sweet and tastes much like a 
Land-Turtle ” *. 
Audubon and Bachman observe that they were informed by Captain C. H. Baldwin 
that the Nine-banded Armadillo is kept tame in Nicaragua to protect houses from the 
invasion of Ants}. Messrs. Godman and Salvin inform me that in Guatemala the 
Armadillo is abundant in the primeval forests of the districts lying on both sides of the 
Cordillera up to an elevation of 4000 or even 5000 feet. Native hunters usually track 
them to their burrows with dogs, which give notice if an occupant is at home. The 
hunter then, using his bush-knife as a pick, and his hands as a shovel, commences 
with the utmost dispatch to dig out the animal, which all the while endeavours to 
escape by scratching deeper into the ground. It is a race between the Armadillo and 
the man, and an even chance which succeeds. The tail is the first part seized by the 
hunter, and then, after a short struggle, the victim succumbs. Various artifices are 
resorted to by the hunter to prevent the Armadillo from burrowing out of his reach. 
One, very Central-American in its conception, is for the hunter to place his sandals on 
the ground over the line of retreat, it being supposed that the animal will not 
pass under them, but, on reaching this point, will cease its exertions and fall a prey 
to its pursuer. Other equally efficacious methods are resorted to. The flesh of the 
Armadillo is tender, white, and usually esteemed a delicacy. 
* Dampier’s Voyages, il. 2, pp. 61, 62. t Quad. N. Am. ii. p. 223. 
