EDENTATA: EEPODIENTIA. 83 



terior limbs very long, much exceeding the posterior, 

 mamma? pectoral, tail wanting or very short, and the 

 hair long and coarse. The fingers are united by the 

 skin, and only marked by enormous, compressed, crooked 

 nails, which when at rest are always bent towards the 

 palm of the hand or the sole of the foot. By their whole 

 structure, these animals are fitted to pass their lifetime 

 on trees, and it is said they never remove from a tree 

 until they have stripped it of its leaves. With theij 

 long arms and long claws, they cling firmly around the 

 branches, and it is an interesting fact that they almost 

 always keep on the under side of the branch. In this , 

 position they move and repose in perfect security. On 

 the ground they move awkwardly and with difficulty* 

 Observing this, and not knowing that the sloths are 

 strictly arboreal, some of the earlier zoologists regarded 

 their structure as unfortunate. Two species, one of the 

 size of the domestic cat and another larger, inhabit the 

 hot portions of South America. ' 



The Megatherium, having a skeleton eighteen feet 

 long and eight feet high, only found fossil, is allied to 

 the sloths. The bones of this animal are of colossal di- 

 mensions, the femur being three times as thick as that 

 of the elephant. The Megalonyx and Mylodon are also 

 huge extinct sloth-like animals, whose remains, like those 

 of the Megatherium, are found in the superficial deposits 

 of South America, and also to some extent in those of the 

 United States, especially in South Carolina and Georgia. 



EFFODIENTIA, OR ARMADILLO FAMILY. This Family 

 comprises Armadillos, Ant-eaters, and Pangolins, and is 

 characterized by a long, pointed muzzle. 



Armadillos or Tatous are at once distinguished from 

 all other Mammals by their bony or horny armor. This 

 armor is not a consolidated framework, but is composed 

 of several parts, which are so arranged as to allow freedom 



