THE ARMADILLO. 279 



Zones or bands of the armadillo. 



markable that most authors vary ; and the exact 

 discrimination of all the species seems yet a de- 

 sideratum in natural history; this, perhaps arises 

 partly from the inattention of draughtsmen and 

 engravers, when representing the animals, and 

 partly from different authors counting differently 

 the bands on some of the species, which are so 

 placed as to make it difficult in some instances 

 to distinguish the ultimate, or bounding zones of 

 the body, from the scaly divisions on the fore 

 and hind-parts, and which, like the bands, are 

 disposed into a kind of zones though less strongly 

 marked. Some species, however, are so clearly 

 defined by this mode of distinction, as to be at 

 all times readily ascertained." 



The zones, or bands, of the nine-banded arma- 

 dillo are extremely distinct, and well defined, 

 being transversely marked by a number of trian- 

 gular figures. The head and snout are longer, 

 and more taper than those of any of the rest of 

 the species : the tail is likewise longer and 

 sharper, and the e#rs larger and erect: it has four 

 toes on the fore-feet, and five on the hind. 



The above rule, however, is liable to variations ; 

 for the Comte de Buffon remarks, that specimens 

 of this kind have been observed with eight bands 

 only, which in every other respect perfectly re- 

 sembled the nine-banded ones: it is, therefore, 

 his opinion, that the number of bands in this 

 ipecies, may probably constitute not a specific 

 but a sexual difference: thus the eight-banded 



VOL. II. NOU XIV. & N 



