THE WEASEL- HEADED ARMADILLO. 



113 



quarrelsome : on the other hand he seems to love peace ; for, 

 if there should he any quarrel among the animals in the court- 

 yard, he runs directly to separate the combatants. Many 

 persons at the Cape of Good Hope rear these birds in their 

 yards, as much in order to preserve peace there as to destroy 

 the lizards, serpents, and rats which frequently enter to de- 

 vour the poultry and eggs." 



THE WEASEL- HEADED ARMADILLO, 



Dasypus Miistelinus, Tatu Mustelinus, Grew and Ray; En- 

 coubert, Buffon ; Dasypus sex-cinctus and Dasypus octode- 

 cem-cinctw, Linnaeus. This armadillo, the Tatoupoyouoi 

 the Spanish naturalist D'Azara, is one of the smaller species 

 of a numerous tribe of quadrupeds peculiar to the continent 

 of South America. 



Buffo n introduces this singular genus to our notice, with a 

 fine strain of eloquence. " When a quadruped," says he, 

 u is mentioned, the very name seems to convey the idea of an 

 animal covered with hair. In the same manner, when we 

 speak of a bird or a fish, feathers and scales present them- 

 selves to the imagination, and appear to be inseparable attri- 

 butes of these beings. Nature, however, as if she intended 

 to withdraw herself from all method, and to elude our most 

 general views, contradicts our ideas and denominations, knows 



Zool. Mag. No. 4. i 



