MAMMALS. 



583 



and browse upon the grass, they flee to the pouch on the slightest alarm, 

 even until they reach a weight of ten pounds. 



Edentates. 



The term edentate means toothless ; and in applying it to the present 

 group of animals the reader must not understand that the members are 

 without teeth, but merely that they lack the front, or incisor, teeth. There 

 are other mammals with the same feature, but various anatomical charac- 



Fig. 478. — Three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctvs). 



ters (too technical in nature to be discussed here) serve to mark off the 

 present forms from all the rest. 



The curious armadillos of tropical America are possibly as familiar as 

 any member of the group, and in this connection we may mention the fact 

 that these forms are far from being literally toothless, for some of them 

 have an abundant supply, one species having a full hundred in both jaws. 

 The armadillos derive their name from the armor enveloping the body. 

 This armor is formed by the deposition of bone in the integument of 

 the body, and it may cover not only the back, but the top of the head and 

 tail as well. In most forms this coat of mail is jointed like that of the 



