Mammalia: Classification 745 



Fig. 554. Armadillo. (Courtesy, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 

 University.) 



are all of the same sex and are otherwise "identical" quadruplets, all 

 four being derived from a single fertilized egg which, at an early stage 

 of development, forms four embryos instead of the usual one. 



Modern xenarthrans are confined to South and Central America, 

 except that one species of armadillo, the ""nine-banded armadillo" 

 (Dasypus novemcinctus), ranges north into southern Texas. 



Order 10: PHOLIDOTA. This Order (name from the Greek pholis, 

 scale) contains only the scaly anteaters or pangolins (family 

 manidae) of Asia and Africa (Fig. 555). Externally they resemble 

 armadillos. The animal has a complete armor of large, overlapping, 

 horny scales, but, in contrast to the armadillo, there are no underlying 

 bony plates. Between scales are coarse stiff hairs (reduced or absent in 

 some large or old animals). The hindfeet are plantigrade, but the digits 

 of the manus are so strongly curved downward and backward that, in 

 walking, it is their dorsal surfaces that bear upon the ground. The 

 adults are toothless. Snout, jaws, and tongue are elongated, as is usual 

 in anteaters. 



Most pangolins are ground-dwellers, but some of the smaller ones 

 are arboreal, the long slim tail being prehensile. The "giant pan- 

 golin" attains a length, including tail, of 5 or 6 feet. The chief food of 

 pangolins is termites. They are commonly included in a single Genus, 

 Manis, but some classifications recognize several Genera. 



Order 11: TUBULIDENTATA. The one Genus constituting this 

 Order is Orycteropus, the South African aardvark (Dutch, meaning 

 "earth pig") or Cape anteater (Fig. 556). The animal is about as 

 large as a hog. Its external appearance gives a general impression of 

 inefficiency — ungainly body, stout legs, thick tail, small head with 

 long, mulish ears. The moderately long, narrow snout, small mouth, 

 and long tongue indicate the diet, chiefly termites. The animal is 

 sparsely covered with short, coarse hair. The digits, four on the manus 



