196 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



Pichy {Dasyjms minutus). It is extremely abundant 

 on the arid plains near the Sierra Ventana, and likewise 

 in the neighbourhood of the Rio Negro. " At Bahia 

 Blanca," says Mr. Darwin, " I found, in the stomach of 

 this armadillo, coleoptera, larvae, roots of plants, and 

 even a small snake of the genus Amphisboena, 



" The pichy prefers a dry soil ; and the sand-dunes 

 near the coast, where for many months it can never taste 

 water, are its favourite resort. In the course of a day's 

 ride near Bahia Blanca several were generally met with. 

 The instant one was observed, it was necessary, in order 

 to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse : for if the 

 soil was soft, the animal burrowed so quickly, that its 

 hinder quarters almost disappeared before one could 

 alight. The pichy likewise often tries to escape notice 

 by squatting close to the ground. It appears almost a 

 pity to kill such nice little animals ; for, as a Gaucho 

 said while sharpening his knife on the back of one, ' Son 

 tan mansos ' (They are so quiet)." 



The pichy measures only ten inches in the length of 

 the head and body, and about four inches in that of the 

 tail. It is diurnal in its habits. 



The Tatouay (^Dasypits tatouay, Desm.). 



This species is an example for Cuvier's section 

 Cabassous. The Tatouay, or wounded Armadillo, is so 

 called by the Indians in allusion to its tail, which is 

 naked, or as it were rudely deprived of the crust or bony 

 tube which covers this organ in all the other species. 

 The whole length of the tatouay, as given by Azara, is 

 twenty-six inches and a half, including the tail, which is 

 seven inches and a half, roiuid, pointed, and naked, with 

 the exception of a few round scales or crusts on the under 

 surface of the third nearest to the extremity, which fre- 

 quently trails along the ground when the animal walks : 

 the rest is covered with soft brown fur, interspersed with 

 a few stiff short hairs on the superior surface. The head 

 is longer, narrower, and more attenuated than that of 

 the poyou, though considerably less so than in the peba 

 and mule armadillo ; the ears are unusually large, being 



