528 



EDENTATA. 



but always five on the liinder. Their tongue is soft, and but little 

 extensible ; a few hairs are scattered between tlie plates of their 

 armour, or in those parts of the body wliere these plates are de- 

 ficient. The Armadillos vary in size, from tliat of a terrier dog, to 

 that of a hedgeliog. They are stout in their body and low on their 

 legs ; tliey dig burrows, and feed partly on vegetables, partly on 

 insects and dead animals. They belong to tl)e warm, or at least the 

 temperate, parts of America. 



The Ant-eaters (Mijrmecnphaga) inhabit the same countries as the 

 Armadillos, from which, however, they are readily distinguislied. 

 Their body is hairy, and their muzzle, drawn out into a long, cylin- 

 drical tube, is terminated by a small mouth, entirely destitute of 

 teeth. In consequence of the smallness of their moutlj, their jaws 

 can scarcely be separated from each other, nor can the creatures 

 use them to seize or compress their food; but they are provided 

 with a very long tongue, which, wlien extended, resembles a great 

 earth-worm : this they are able to j^roti-ude to a considerable distance, 

 and as it is always covered with a viscid tenacious slime, they use 

 it for the purpose of catching the ants upon which they feed. By 

 the assistance of their long and powerful nails, the Ant-eaters tear 

 up tlie nests of the Termites or White Ants, and at the moment 

 wlien these insects sally fortli in crowds from their retreat, protrud- 

 ing amongst them their viscid tongue, seize them by hundreds, and 

 thus convey them into their mouth. When at rest, the claws, that 

 sen'e also as defensive weapons, are folded against the wrist, so 

 that as the animal only rests the foot upon the side, its gait is slow. 

 Some species are furnished with a prehensile tail, by which they 

 suspend themselves fr(im the branches of trees. The largest of the 

 tiibe. 



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Fig 455 — great akt-bear. 



