1386 THE EDENTATES 



one at birth. It is a much commoner animal than the tamanoa, and is said to be 

 generally found on the borders of the forests. Frequently it ascends to the top of 

 the tallest trees. When pursued, it endeavors to escape by flight; but if hard 

 pressed it turns on men or dogs in the same manner as its larger cousin, sitting up 

 on its hind-quarters, and trying to hug its foes in its arms. 



The third and last representative of the family (Cydoturus didacty- 

 lus) is no larger than a rat. Its skull is only slightly elongated. The 



length of the head and body is only six inches, and that of the pre- 

 hensile tail a little over seven inches. The fore-feet have four toes, of which 

 those corresponding to the index and third fingers of man alone have claws; the 

 claw of the third toe being very much larger than that of the second. In the hind- 

 feet there are four nearly equal-sized toes, which are placed close together so as to 

 form a hook-like organ somewhat after the fashion of the foot of a sloth. The fur 

 is soft, thick, and silky; its color being generally foxy red above and gray beneath, 

 with the individual hairs grayish brown or black at the base, and yellowish brown 

 at the tips. The skull differs from that of the other ant-eaters by its shorter muz- 

 zle, and by the absence of the backward prolongation of the nasal passage on the 

 palate, to which allusion has been already made. The lower jaw is less widely re- 

 moved from the ordinary type. Another peculiarity in the skeleton is the presence 

 of well-developed collar bones; and it may also be noted that the ribs are so ex- 

 traordinarily wide as to come nearly in contact with one another, and thus render 

 the bony casing of the body well-nigh continuous. 



The two-toed ant-eater is an exclusively-arboreal animal, with a 

 1 t^H b't somewna t restricted geographical range. It inhabits Northern Bra- 



zil, Guiana, and Peru, between the tenth parallel of south and the 

 sixth parallel of north latitude, and it also extends into Central America; its range 

 thus including the very hottest portions of the continent. In the mountains it as- 

 cends to an elevation of some two thousand feet above the sea. It is either a rare 

 creature, or one but seldom seen, even by the natives; frequenting the thickest por- 

 tions of the forests, and escaping observation through its arboreal habits and dimin- 

 utive size. Like its larger relatives, it leads, except during the pairing season, a 

 solitary existence, and it is likewise nocturnal, sleeping during the day among the 

 boughs. Its movements are generally slow and deliberate; but when so disposed, 

 it can climb quickly, always with the aid of the tail. Ants, termites, bees, wasps, 

 and their larvae, are its food. When it has captured a large insect, it sits up on its 

 haunches like a squirrel, and conveys the prey to its mouth with its paws. Bates 

 had one of these ant-eaters brought to him which had been captured while slumber- 

 ing in a hollow tree. He kept it in the house for twenty-four hours, where ' ' it 

 remained nearly all the time without motion, except when irritated, in which case it 

 reared itself on its hind-legs from the back of a chair to which it clung, and clawed 

 out with its fore-paws like a cat. Its manner of clinging with its claws, 

 and the sluggishness of its motions, gave it a great resemblance to a sloth. It 

 uttered no sound, and remained all night on the spot where I had placed it in the 

 morning. The next day I put it on a tree in the open air, and at night it escaped." 



