504 Observations on the Anatomy of the Sloth. 



like that of the adult ; the eyes appeared to be perfectly deve- 

 loped : compared with other animals, the foetus was unusually 

 large ; yet its protrusion is easily effected by means of the ex- 

 tremely large outlet of the pelvis, and the peculiar structure of 

 the generative organs. The uterus is musculo-membranous, and 

 contains two distinct lobulated placenta, one on either side of 

 the fundus, receiving an equal number of branches from the 

 umbilical vessels. 



The reproductive organs of this animal are singularly anoma- 

 lous. Vagina ab recto sejuncta est, ambo tamen uno ore a peri- 

 ad untur, sphinctere communi circumdato ; in ipso cujus introitu, 

 inferiorem spiraculi partem apparent nymphae bene patefactse, 

 et clitoris triangularis foliaceaque. Circiter mensuram unciae 

 intra vaginam, meatus urinarius se aperit. Inter vaginam et 

 OS sacrum latum, rectum ingens positum est, impletum induratis 

 fcBcibus, similibus excrementis ovis. 



The Sloths, then, have been erroneously represented as pos- 

 sessing a cloaca like that of birds, inasmuch as there does not 

 occur any mixture of the contents of the bladder and rectum, 

 as is the case in true cloacae. The vagina and rectum, or 

 cloaca, are distinct from each other; there being no large in- 

 testines, properly so called, the rectum performs the functions 

 of the coecum. Although the animal is strictly phytivorous, the 

 bowels resemble those of the carnivora, being small and short ; 

 the inferior portions are somewhat succulated, like the colon ; 

 but the faeces do not assume their characteristic form, until they 

 have reached the rectum. The stomach consists of a large 

 paunch, in no way furnished with compartments like that of the 

 ruminantia, as is asserted by Buffon, who also errs in attributing 

 ruminating faculties to these animals ; but this organ presents a 

 structure differing from that of any other animal with which wc 

 are familiar, being furnished with numerous long, conical cul- 

 de-sacs, some of which are divided longitudinally into two com- 

 partments ; these, in the present instance, were filled with mas- 

 ticated leaves, of a pulpy consistence. The liver is small, with- 

 out a gall bladder, or any unusual enlargements of the ductus 

 communis. The kidneys are rather small and conglobate: the 

 urinary bladder is very large. The heart was very small, and 

 contracted by the spirits, as were all the blood vessels. The 

 account given by Mr. Carlisle, of the peculiar distribution of the 



