TEETH AND GIZZARD 



animal is entirely ants ; like the American ant-eaters, 

 but unlike the African Orycteropus, the Manis has no 

 teeth in its mouth, though the tongue is long and helped 

 by large salivary glands. Like the American ant-eater, 

 the Manis has a stomach which may be almost compared 

 to a bird's gizzard. That is its walls are much thickened 

 with muscle, and small pebbles seem to be also swallowed 

 to help in crushing the food which in other animals is 

 accomplished by the molar teeth. Though toothless as 

 any hag the Manis triumphs over nature by adventitious 

 help. It is said, however, to be a particularly stupid 

 animal. When kept in confinement it wanders on at 

 night in a straight line, like a Roman making a road, and 

 if a chair happens to be in the way, climbs over it and 

 falls down on the other side. All these ant-eaters are not 

 purely ground-living creatures, like the aard vark. 

 Many are, it is true ; and burrow therein to a very great 

 length and depth. An Indian species makes a tunnel 

 shelving downwards of twelve feet in length, and term- 

 inates it with a comfortable chamber of six feet circum- 

 ference, to rest in. Some pangolins, however, climb ; 

 and in these the toes are turned inwards and downwards 

 as they are in the great American ant-eater. The largest 

 Manis is six feet long ; and one species, which obviously 

 had to be called Manis macrura, has the distinction of 

 being one of not more than three animals which have 

 the longest tails. In this animal the tail is nearly twice 

 as long as the body. The same doubt surrounds the 

 origin of the Manis as does that of the aard vark. Its 

 birth is " wrop up in a mistry." And here again no 

 fossils can be appealed to, to help us out of the impasse. 

 The brain is not so helpful as it appears to be in the 

 aard vark. There are, however, rather more grounds 

 in this case than in that for linking on the Manis to the 

 American ant-eaters, though, as already said, they are at 

 present not entirely trustworthy. 



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