THE WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO. 115 



History in her infancy, but should have had less difficulty in 

 removing her swaddling clothes and her toys, and perhaps 

 might have advanced her age, for we should have written 

 more for science and less against error. 



" But to return to our subject. Among viviparous quad- 

 rupeds, as we have seen, there are several species of animals 

 which are not covered with hair. The armadillos alone consti- 

 tute an entire genus, which includes a number of distinct spe- 

 cies, and all of them are covered with a crust resembling bone." 



This crust or armour consists, 1st, of a plate which defends 

 the head ; 2nd, of a large shield situated over the shoulders, 

 and formed of small compartments of a rectangular, or of a 

 many-sided form, disposed in transverse rows ; 3rd, of bands 

 made up of transverse rows of more elongated pieces, which 

 bands vary in number according to the species, and are move- 

 able ; 4th, of a shield upon the crupper, analogous in its com- 

 position to that of the shoulders ; 5th, of rings surrounding 

 the tail for a greater or less extent. 



The hind feet have five toes in all the species j the fore feet 

 have also five in some, but in others have only four toes. 

 The muzzle inclines more or less to a point. The tongue is 

 smooth, almost cylindrical, and moderately extensible. The 

 hairs are few and scattered, and are principally situated along 

 the under part of the body and on the legs ; it is from the 

 latter circumstance that the Linnaean term Dasypus, or hairy 

 foot, is applied to this genus. 



The small compartments that compose the bands and shields 

 are firmly and immoveably united together in each division 

 of the armour ; but they are nevertheless all distinct and they 

 separate from each other when exposed to the action of fire. 

 They vary in their forms in the different species, but are 

 generally disposed with great regularity, resembling mosaic 

 work. The entire crust, or armour, is covered with a thin 

 and transparent cuticle, which gives it a shining appearance, 

 as if it were varnished. 



The skin on the under surface of the body is covered with 

 scale-like warts, from which the long hairs spring out, gene- 

 rally in a determinate number. The same kind of excres- 

 cences cover the legs, but they are more closely approximated, 

 and more scale-like. The tail is thick, pointed, and very 

 straight. There is a concavity in the posterior margin of the 

 hinder shield over its root. In one of the species, the Ca- 

 bassou, or 12-banded armadillo of Erxleben, the tail is hairy, 

 and is not protected by a crust ; in the other species, the 

 annular structure of the defensive integument permits a slight 

 mobility. 



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