196 



THE GENESIS OF SPECIES. 



[CHAP. 



and adds : l " These cases and those of the hairless dogs 

 forcibly call to mind the fact that the two orders of mam- 

 mals, namely, the Edentata and Cetacea, which are the 

 most abnormal in their dermal covering, are likewise the 

 most abnormal either by deficiency or redundancy of 

 teeth." The assertion with regard to these orders is cer- 

 tainly true, but it should be borne in mind at the same 

 time that the armadillos, which are much more abnormal 

 than are the American ant-eaters as regards their dermal 

 covering, in their dentition are less so. On the other hand, 

 the Cape ant-eater, or Aard-vark (Orycteropus), has teeth 



THE AARD-VARK (ORYCTEROPUS). 



formed on a type quite different from any existing in 

 other mammals ; yet its hairy coat does not exhibit any 

 such strange peculiarity. Again, those remarkable scaly 

 ant-eaters of the Old World the pangolins (Manis) stand 

 alone amongst mammals as regards their dermal covering ; 



1 "Animals and Plants under Domestication," vol. ii. p. 328. 



