MAMMAXiIA 



621 



It is 



teeth are well adapted for bringing the blood on the victim, 

 then lapped up from the wound. 



Order Edentata. — This is a group including the giant anteaters, 

 sloths, and armadillos. The giant anteater is the only one in which 

 the teeth are entirely absent; they are modified in other forms by 

 lack of enamel. The giant anteater, MijrmecopJiaga juhata, reaches 

 a length of six or seven feet. Its long claws are used to open the 

 anthill, and the long prehensile tongue is used for taking up the 

 ants. The sloths live in trees, clinging to the underside of the limbs 

 by the long, clawed feet. The animal is ventral side up. They can 

 even sleep in this position. Their food is principally leaves and buds. 

 They are very slow moving animals and inhabit South and Central 

 America. 



Fig. 333. — Nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemciiictum. 



The nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctum, is the only one 

 of this group inhabiting the United States. It ranges from Argentina 

 to southern New Mexico and northeast to central and east Texas. 

 The head is small, tail elongate, and the body is covered dorsally by 

 bony plates. The ventral parts of the head and body are covered 

 with bristly hair. The nine bands are formed around the trunk by 

 the arrangement of the scutes in that region. These animals dig 

 very rapidly in the ground, and when they are frightened they can 

 roll themselves into a ball as does a pill bug. The normal litter 

 of young is quadruplets produced from a single fertilized ovum 

 (Fig. 334). 



Order Pholidot a. —This is a group of scaly anteaters found in 

 Africa and eastern Asia. They are well protected by epidermal scales 

 and can roll up like armadillos. They are from one to five feet long. 



Order Rodentia. — These animals are the gnawers and compose one 

 of the largest orders of mammals. Such forms as pocket gophers, 



