i9§ EDENTATA 



rounded inner border to a sharp, outer, and inferior edge. The 

 hind foot rather short, with all five toes armed with stout, 

 compressed, slightly curved, obtusely pointed claws — the third the 

 longest, the second nearly equal to it, the fourth the next, the first 

 and fifth shorter, and nearly equal. 



To this genus belongs one of the best -known species of the 

 group, the Six -banded Armadillo or Encoubert (I), sexcinctiis) of 

 Brazil and Paraguay. A very similar species, 1). wMosiis, the Hairy 

 Armadillo, replaces it south of the Rio Plata. There are also two 

 very small species — D. veUerosus, from the Argentine Republic and 

 North Patagonia, and D. nrinutus from La Plata. The latter differs 

 from the other three in having no tooth implanted in the pre- 

 maxillary bone. Remains apparently referable to I). viUosus occur 

 in the Pleistocene cavern-deposits of Brazil. 



Xenurus. 1 — Teeth •§■ or ||, of moderate size and subcylindrical. 

 The most posterior placed a little way behind the anterior root of the 

 zygoma, but far from the hinder margin of the palate. Cranium 

 somewhat elongated, much constricted behind the orbits, and 

 immediately in front of the constriction considerably dilated. 

 Mandible slender ; coronoid process very small and sharp-pointed, 

 sometimes obsolete. Vertebrae : C 7, D 12-13, L 3, S 10, C 18. 

 Head broad behind. Ears rather large and rounded, Avide apart. 

 Movable bands of carapace 12-13 ; the scutes being marked by an 

 obscurely granular sculpture. Tail considerably shorter than the 

 body, slender, and covered with nearly naked skin, with but a few 

 small, scattered, dermal bony plates, chiefly on the under surface 

 and near the apex. On the fore feet the first and second toes are 

 long and slender, with small claws and the normal number of 

 phalanges ; the other toes have but two phalanges ; the third has 

 an immense falcate claw ; the fourth and fifth similar but smaller 

 claws. The hind feet are comparatively small, with five toes, bearing 

 small, triangular, blunt nails ; the third longest, the first shortest. 

 The best known species of this genus, the Tatouay or Cabassou, A'. 

 unicinctus, is, after Priodon gigas, the largest of the group. It is 

 found, though not abundantly, in Surinam, Brazil, and Paraguay, 

 its remains occurring in the Pleistocene cavern-deposits of Brazil. 

 Others, A', hispidus and lufjubris, have been described, but little is as 

 yet known of them. 



Priodon? — Teeth variable in number, and generally differing on 

 the two sides of each jaw, usually from 20 to 25 on each side 

 above and below, so that as many as 100 may be present alto- 

 gether ; but as life advances the. anterior teeth fall out, and all 

 traces of their alveoli disappear. The series extends as far back as 

 the hinder edge of the anterior root of the zygoma. The teeth are 



1 Wagler, Syst. Amphibien, etc., p. 36 (1830). 

 - F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. des Mammifires (1822). — Friodontcs. 



