EDENTATA OR EDENTATES. 129 



rodents by having each upper incisor with a smaller in- 

 cisor behind it ; that is, the formula for their incisors 

 stands thus: f. And all the incisors are less deeply 

 implanted in the jaws than in other rodents, and are 

 white ; and the molars are rootless. Rabbits and Hares 

 have the feet clothed with hair beneath, and the inner 

 surface of the cheeks lined with hairs. The tail is short 

 and bushy ; or it is only rudimentary. They feed upon 

 bark, tender twigs, and leaves. Some live in burrows, 

 but most have merely a, form, or nest on the ground. 



SUB-SECTIOX XIII. 



THE ORDER OF EDENTATA OR EDENTATES. 



This Order is sometimes called Bruta. Its members 

 are deficient in teeth, as compared with other mammalia, 

 all of them being destitute of incisors, and some kinds 

 being wholly destitute of teeth ; and the teeth when present 

 are without enamel, and are never displaced by a second 

 series. Ant-eaters, Sloths, and Armadillos are among the 

 representatives of the Edentates. They all have long and 

 strong claws. 



This order has but comparatively few living representa- 

 tives. 



Some kinds, as the Ant-eaters or Myrmecophagidre of 

 the warm parts of South America, have a long muzzle, a 

 toothless mouth, and filiform tongue capable of great ex- 

 tension ; and they use this tongue, which is covered with 

 a viscid saliva, in securing ants for food. The Giant Ant- 

 eater of South America is four feet long, and it is said that 

 its tongue can be elongated more than two feet ! 



