584 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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The unusual space between the fore and 

 hind feet in the middle of the left scries is 

 often seen. Sometimes the tail mark is there 

 and sometimes not. Sometimes the trail is 

 like that of a small mink. The toes seldom 

 show (see pages 554 and 572). 



even in localities where they are numerous. In 

 fact it is only within the last few years that 

 their presence in many parts of the southwest- 

 ern border has become known. 



Although both the little spotted and common 

 skunks live mainly on insects, the hog-nosed 

 skunks are even more insectivorous in their 

 feeding habits. The bare snout appears to be 

 used constantly for the purpose of rooting out 

 beetles, grubs, and larvce of various kinds from 

 the ground. 



On the highlands of Mexico I have many 

 times camped in localities where patches of 

 ground were rooted up nightly by these skunks 

 to a depth of two or three inches as thoroughly 

 as might have been done by small pigs. In 

 such places I repeatedly failed to capture them 

 by traps baited with meat, the insects and grubs 

 they were finding apparently being more at- 

 tractive food. I have had similar failures in 

 trapping for coyotes with meat bait in localities 

 where they were feeding fat on swarms of 

 large beetles and crickets. The persistence with 

 which the hog-nosed skunks hunt insects ren- 

 ders them a valuable aid to farmers. 



In addition to grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, 

 flies, grubs, and other larvae, and many other 

 insects, they are known to eat wood rats, mice, 

 and the small fruit of cactuses and other plants. 

 The stomach of one of these skunks examined 

 in Texas contained about 400 beetles. 



One Texas naturalist writes that he has lost 

 a number of young kids which had their noses 

 bitten off, and in one instance caught one of 

 these skunks mutilating a kid in this manner. 

 He also states that they pull down and eat corn 

 when it is in the "roasting-car" stage. 



Far less is known concerning the habits of 

 hog-nosed skunks than of the other species of 

 these animals. The number of young appears 

 to be small, judging from the record of a single 

 embr}-© found in one animal and in another 

 instance of two young found in a nest located 

 in a hollow stump. They have a curiously 

 stupid, sluggish manner and have even less 

 vivacity than the somewhat sedate common 

 skunk. No use is made of their skins in this 

 country or in Mexico, but the gigantic natives 

 of Patagonia make robes of them which are 

 worn like great cloaks. 



THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO 

 (Dasypus novemcincta and its relatives) 



{Por illustration, sec page ^^q) 



Armadillos arc distinguished from other 

 mammals by having tiie nearly, or quite, hair- 

 less skin developed into a bony armor cover- 

 ing the upperparts of the head and body and 

 all of the tail. They lack teeth in the front of 

 both upper and lower jaws, and are members 

 of the group of toothless animals which in- 

 cludes the ant-eaters. The insects they feed on 

 are licked up by the sticky surface of their 

 extensile tongues. 



In the remote past many species of arma- 

 dillos, some of gigantic size, roamed the plains 

 of South America, and a number of small 



