MANIDAE. l'Jo 



NOTE XXV. 



REVISION OF THE MANIDAE IN THE LEYDEN 



MUSEUM 



BY 



Dr. F. A. JENTINK. 



May 1882. 



Having been occupied for some time with a detailed and 

 close examination of the specimens belonging to this group 

 of Ant-eaters which form part of our collections , I have been 

 led to observe certain points in the external form and in 

 the structure of the skeletons which appear to me to be 

 not without interest as these facts throw a clearer liffht 

 upon the classification of these curious creatures. 1 wish 

 to give a short exposition of them before proceeding to 

 an enumeration of our individuals. 



The observations which I have been able to make have 

 been repeatedly confirmed and controlled by myself thanks 

 to our unequaled and nearly complete collection of stuffed 

 specimens and individuals in spirits , of skeletons and skulls , 

 embracing all the species hitherto known. 



In the year 1834 Bennett, P. Z. S. L. p. 82, cited as a 

 particuliarity in the distribution of the scales of Manis tem- 

 minckii: »the cessation of the middle series of them at a 

 » short distance anterior to the extremity of the tail, so 

 »that the last four transverse rows consist of four scales 



Notes from the Leyclen IMuseum, Vol. IV. 



18 



