184 SKETCH or THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



the armadillo, in which latter animal the skeleton is 

 expressly modified for the armour which covers the back 

 and head. 



In his paper on the Glyptodon, wherein the claims of 

 the megatherium to this armour are discussed, Professor 

 Owen gives a tabular account of the discovery of twelve 

 skeletons of [the megatherium, and in no instance did 

 any portion of bony armour occur with or near the bone ; 

 and in a note the writer of the article ' Megatherium ' in 

 the ' Penny Cyclopasdia ' states as follows : — 



"Sir Woodbine Parish has just now (May 29, 1839) 

 kindly communicated to us a letter received by him, 

 U'iving information of the discovery of an almost entire 

 skeleton of an adult megatherium on the banks of the 

 Rio de la Matanza, with all the vertebrae of the body, 

 all the ribs, all the teeth, the head and the legs, in short, 

 with the whole of the bones except the tail and one foot. 

 Close to it was the skeleton of a ' tatou gigantesque ' 

 (glyptodon probably), with its bony armour complete. 

 There was also found a very small and perfect mega- 

 therium, which must have been only just born at the 

 epoch of destruction. No mention is -made of any traces 

 of bony armour or shell about the megatheria. In the 

 old animal only one foot is wanting. It has been sug- 

 gested that the so-called young megatherium may pos- 

 sibly be a skeleton of scelidotherium." 



It is then to the armadillo-like glyptodon, and not to 

 the megatherium, that the strong bony armour belongs ; 

 of this latter animal relics have been found on the left 

 bank of the Pedernal, near Monte Video, and are pre- 

 served in the Museum of that town. Portions of bony 

 armour also have been obtained in the Rio Seco and 

 Banda Oriental, similar in structure to the specimen of 

 the Pedernal. 



''The collection of fossils," says Professor Owen, 

 " brought to England from South America by Mr. Dar- 

 win, has enabled me to add the following facts to the 

 history of the megatherium. Its teeth, for example, do 

 not differ in number from those of the sloths, there 

 being five on each side of the upper jaw. Microscopic 



