142 



" This animal was the female specimen lately presented to the 

 Society, which died almost immediately after its arrival. Its ad- 

 measurements were as follows : 



ft. in. lines. 

 From the end of the nose to the setting on of the tail 110 



From ditto to the vertex 4? 



From the vertex to the first band 4 



From the last band to the skirt of the armour ... 3 10 



Breadth of the head across the eyes 16 



The ears were contracted and tubular at the base, but the rest of 

 the conch expanded, with the apex rounded -, their length 1 inch 

 10 lines ; their extreme breadth 10 lines. The openings of the eye- 

 lids were 3 lines in length, and oblique from behind upwards and 

 forwards ; their margins tumid, and the cilice chiefly on the lower 

 eyelid towards the nose. The membrana nictitans could be drawn 

 over the nasal half of the cornea. The globe of the eye was about 

 the size of a peppercorn, the cornea occupying almost the whole of 

 the anterior half. The pupil was dilated and round. The anterior 

 extremities being formed for digging, the animal has strong clavi- 

 cles, which are concave anteriorly. There were four small nipples, 

 two in the pectoral and two in the inguinal regions : the number of 

 young produced at the Gardens of the Society by the Weasel -headed 

 species, (Dasypus 6-cinctus, Linn.,) have not exceeded two. 



" The contents of the abdomen were partly concealed by a thin epi- 

 ploon devoid of fat, as indeed was the case with all the viscera. The 

 oesophagus runs an inch below the diaphragm before it terminates. 

 The stomach is almost of a globular form ; but suddenly contracted 

 in its dimensions for about an inch at the pyloric end. The azsopha- 

 gus enters at the distance of an inch and a half from the left extre- 

 mity, the cuticular lining terminating at the cardia. The villous 

 membrane presented two distinct appearances, two-thirds of the 

 cavity at the cardiac end being lined by a membrane of a redder 

 colour with coarser villi, and elevated into a few solitary but well 

 defined ruga ; while the rest of the cavity was lined by a smoother 

 membrane, only puckered near the pylorus. There was a slight 

 contraction between these parts, which disappeared on distending 

 the stomach ; it is probably increased during the digestive process 

 so as to produce a greater degree of separation between the two 

 parts of the cavity, for the pyloric end is evidently adapted for 

 powerfully triturating the alimentary matter, and the pylorus is pro- 

 vided with a valvular apparatus to prevent the propulsion of the 

 contents of the stomach, until they have undergone the necessary 

 comminution. The muscular coat is here thrice the thickness of any 

 other part of the cavity ; and the exterior of the stomach has at this 

 part a tendinous appearance on each side. A semilunar ridge de- 

 fines the lower part of the pyloric aperture, and above this ridge 

 there is a protuberance about the size of a hazel-nut, upon which 

 the villous membrane is puckered ; this protuberance is equally ob- 

 vious externally. It is not glandular, but is chiefly occasioned by 

 an accumulation of condensed cellular membrane between the mus- 



