THE ARMADILLOS 



1395 



habits, and it is said to feed chiefly on ants and termites, although not averse to 

 carrion. 



The common three-banded armadillo, or apar, (Tolypeutes tri- 



Three-Banded 

 Armadillo 



tindus}, is the typical representative of a genus comprising three 

 rather small species, distinguished by the great development and soli- 

 darity of the scapular and lumbar shields of the carapace, and the reduction of the 

 movable bands to three. The teeth, of which there are nine on each side of the 

 lower jaw, and either nine or eight in the upper jaw, are relatively small, and ex- 

 tend back nearly to the end of the palate. The head is long and narrow, with the 

 elongated and oval ears placed rather low down on its sides. The third claw in the 

 fore-feet is even more developed than in the giant armadillo; the first and fifth claws 

 being very minute or wanting. In the hind-foot the three middle toes have short 

 hoof-like nails, while those of the first and fifth digits are smaller and compressed. 

 The plates of the carapace are small and polygonal, with a strongly-marked granu- 

 lar sculpture. Both the scapular and lumbar shields of the carapace are very large, 

 and much produced on the sides of the neck and tail, thus forming large chambers 

 into which the limbs, tail, and head, can be withdrawn. The conical tail is less 

 than a third the length of the body, and is covered with bony tubercles. The total 

 length of the head and body is about fifteen inches, and the general color is dark 

 gray, with a more or less marked brown tinge; the skin between the movable bands 

 being whitish, while that on the under surface of the body is dusky. 



The apar is found throughout the Argentine pampas, and, in common with the 

 other two members of the genus, differs from the rest of the armadillos in being 

 able to roll itself up into a complete ball, with the shield of the head and the bony 

 upper surface of the tail packed away side by side, and thus completely filling up 

 the notches in the scapu- 

 lar and lumbar shields. 

 In this state the creature 

 is perfectly safe from 

 nearly all foes save man. 

 For instance, when a dog 

 attempts to seize one of 

 these armadillos, it is 

 compelled, from the size 

 of its mouth, to make a 

 bite upon one side, upon 

 which, as Mr. Darwin 

 tells us, the ball imme- 

 diately rolls away from 

 its grasp. The apar is 



mainly diurnal in its habits, and trusts for defense to its power of rolling itself into 

 a ball, not dwelling in burrows like the members of the other genera. When run- 

 ning, these armadillos tread only on the tips of the claws of the fore-feet, and conse- 

 quently have the edges of the carapace raised high above the ground. Our figure 

 represents a specimen with the fore-legs stretched out in front preparatory to digging 



THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO. 



