380 



QUADRUPEDS COVERED 



called the PHATAGIN, much less than the 

 former, being not above a foot long from the 

 head to the tail, with shells differently formed, 

 with its belly, breast, and throat covered with 

 hair, instead of a smooth skin, as in the 

 former; but that by which it is peculiarly 

 distinguished is the extent of its tail, which is 

 above twice the length of its body. Both are 

 found in the warm latitudes of the east, as 

 well as in Africa; and, as their numbers are 

 but few, it is to be supposed their fecundity 

 is not great. 



THE ARMADILLO, OR TATOU. 



HAVING mentioned quadrupeds of the an- 

 cient continent covered with scales, we come 

 next to quadrupeds of the new continent, | 

 covered with shells. It would seem that na- 

 ture had reserved all the wonders of her 

 power for these remote and thinly inhabited 

 countries, where the men are savage, and the 

 quadrupeds various. It would seem that she 

 becomes more extraordinary in proportion as 

 she retires from human inspection. But the 

 real fact is, that wherever mankind are 

 polished, or thickly planted, they soon rid 

 the earth of these odd and half-formed pro- 

 ductions, that in some measure encumber the 

 soil. They soon disappear in a cultivated 

 country, and continue to exist only in those 

 remote deserts where they have no enemies 

 but such as they are enabled to oppose. 



The Armadillo is chiefly an inhabitant of 

 South America; a peaceful, harmless crea- 

 ture, incapable of offending any other quad- 

 ruped, and furnished with a peculiar covering 

 for its own defence. The pangolin, describ- 

 ed above, seems an inactive, helpless being, 

 indebted for safety more to its patience than 

 its power; but the armadillo is still more ex- 

 posed and helpless. The pangolin is furnish- 

 ed with an armour that wounds while it resists, 

 and that is never attacked with impunity; 

 but the armadillo is obliged to submit to 

 every insult, without any power of repelling 

 its enemy ; it is attacked without danger, and 

 is consequently liable to more various perse- 

 cutions. 



This animal being covered, like a tortoise, 

 with 3, shell, or rather a number of shells, its 



other proportions are not easily discerned. 

 It appears, at first view, a round misshapen 

 mass, with a long head, and a very large tail 

 sticking out at either end, as if not of a piece 

 with the rest of the body. It is of different 

 sizes, from a foot to three feet long, and cover- 

 ed with a shell divided into several pieces, 

 that lap over each other like the plaits in a 

 coat of armour, or in the tail of a lobster. 

 The difference in the size of this animal, and 

 also the different disposition and number of 

 its plaits,have been considered as constituting 

 so many species, each marked with its own 

 particular name. In all, however, the animal 

 is partially covered with this natural coat of 

 mail ; the conformation of which affords one 

 of the most striking curiosities in natural his- 

 tory. This shell, which in every respect re- 

 sembles a bony substance, covers the head, 

 the neck, the back, the sides, the rump, and 

 the tail to the very point. The only parts to 

 which it does not extend are, the throat, the 

 breast, and the belly, which are covered with 

 a white soft skin, somewhat resembling that 

 of a fowl stripped of its feathers. If these 

 naked parts be observed with attention, they 

 will be found covered with the rudiments of 

 shells, of the same substance with those which 

 cover the back. The skin, even in the parts 

 that are softest, seems to have a tendency to 

 ossify; but a complete ossification takes place 

 only on those parts, which have the least fric- 

 tion, and are the most exposed to the weather. 

 The shell, which covers the upper part of the 

 body, differs from that of the tortoise, in being 

 composed of more pieces than one, which lie 

 in bands over the body, and, as in the tail of 

 the lobster, slide over each other, and are 

 connected by a yellow membrane in the same 

 manner. By this means the animal has a 

 motion in its back, and the armour gives way 

 to its necessary inflections. These bands are 

 of various numbers and sizes, and from them 

 these animals have been distinguished into 

 various kinds. In general, however, there 

 are two large pieces that cover, one the shoul- 

 ders and the other the rump. In the back, 

 between these, the bands are placed in differ- 

 ent numbers, that lap over each other, and 

 give play to the whole. Besides their open- 

 ing cross-ways, they also open down along 

 the back, so that the animal can move in 



