EDENTATA. 1 17 



being without teeth, and the Sloths, in addition to the molars, 

 having large and powerful cartines. Ant-Eaters differ from the 

 Sloths and Armadillos, not only by being without teeth, but also 

 by the want of clavicles, or collar bones. The most prominent 

 distinction of the Armadillos, is the peculiar nature of their ex- 

 ternal covering. This consists of a bony, tessellated crust, in 

 which their bodies are enveloped ; the hips and shoulders being 

 covered by large, broad bucklers, while the intermediate back is 

 shielded by transverse movable bands, similar in form and ap- 

 pearance to the plate armor of the middle ages. Hence the name 

 Armadillos, (from Armada, armed, and of Spanish origin,) has 

 been given to these animals. The transverse bands which are 

 separated by narrow strings of membrane, overlap each other, as 

 in the ancient coats of mail, so as to give greater freedom, and 

 some degree of lateral motion. The tail, with the exception of 

 one species, is covered with a series of rings ; the limbs are in- 

 cased in a hardened, tuberculous sort of skin, and are very short 

 and strong; the toes have strong claws, adapted for digging or 

 burrowing, a process, which, in the light sandy soil traversed by 

 them, they accomplish with surprising celerity. The molar 

 teeth with which they are furnished, are never less than twenty- 

 six in the whole; and in one species amount to ninety -eight I 

 those of one jaw fitting into interstices of the other as in the Dol- 

 phins. (See Plate IV. fig. 11.) The eyes are very small; the 

 ears large ; the long and slender tongue, like that of the Ant-Eaters 

 proper, is lubricated with a viscid saliva, by means of which it 

 readily takes up ants and similar insects, upon which it chiefly 

 subsists. It however, also feeds on farinaceous roots, and on car- 

 rion, so that in Paraguay, deceased persons who are "interred at a 

 distance from the usual place of sepulture, are obliged to be pro- 

 tected by a lining of strong boards." In searching for food, it is 

 guided chiefly by the sense of smell ; its sight is poor, but this is 

 compensated by the acuteness of its hearing. The Armadillos 

 burrow with such rapidity that they soon disappear in the earth, 

 when suddenly surprised. Their movement is a sort of waddling 

 run, but rather rapid, most of them easily outstripping a man. In 

 captivity, this is kept up by the hour together, and without any 

 apparent motive. The greater portion of them are nocturnal, 

 never moving abroad while the sun is above the horizon, but re- 

 maining concealed in their burrows. The female bears annually, 

 and frequently six, eight, or even ten at a birth. The Armadillos 

 are able, more or less perfectly, to roll themselves up into a ball. 

 These hardy animals thrive and breed rapidly, with a moderate 

 portion of care, in most temperate* countries, but their proper hab- 



