CHAPTER XXI 



THE SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS, AND ARMADILLOS 



BY VV. P. PYCRAFT, A. L. S., F. Z. S. 



THE very remark- 

 able assemblage 

 of animals we are 

 now about to consider 

 includes man}- diverse 

 forms, bracketed together 

 to constitute one great 

 group ; and this on account 

 of the peculiarities of the 

 structure and distribution 

 of the teeth, which are 

 never present in the front 

 of the jaw, and may be 

 absent altogether. Of the 

 five groups recognised, 

 three occur in the New 

 and two in the Old World. 

 All have undergone very 

 considerable modification 

 of form and structure, and 

 in ever\- case this modifica- 

 tion has tended to render 

 themmoreperfcctlyadapted 

 to an arboreal or terrestrial 

 existence. F 1 y i n g o r 

 aquatic types are wanting. 

 Whilst one great group 

 the Sloths is entirely 

 vegetarian, the others feed 

 either on flesh or insects. 



TIIK SLOTHS 



In the matter of 

 personal appearance Nature 

 has not been kind to the 

 SLOTH, though it is cer- 

 tainly true that there are 

 many uglier animals not 

 including those, such as 

 some of the Monkey Tribe 

 and certain of the Swine, 

 w h i c h are positively 

 hideous. The mode of life of the sloth is certainly remarkable, for almost its whole existence 

 is passed among the highest trees of the densest South American forests, and passed, too, in 



336 



Fhttt ty A. S. Rudland & Stni 



NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA) 



This is aha known a! Hoffmann's Sloth, The appellation " tivo-toeJ" refers to the fore limb only. 

 The hind foot has three toes 



