Zoological Society. 361 



terior end ; the foramen rotundum included in the foramen spheno- 

 orbitarium ; the zygoma very small, and pushed quite to the anterior 

 superior angle -of the squamous portion ; the supra -occipital bone en- 

 croaches upon the upper surface of the skull, and has a median pro- 

 tuberance ; the lower jaw much lengthened and slender at the end, 

 without coronoid process. 



Not having seen the skull of the little Two-toed Ant-eater, I have 

 used a little caution in characterizing this family. For example, I 

 have avoided alluding to the peculiar character of the pterygoids, as 

 Cuvier informs us that they do not enclose a long canal as in the 

 larger species. I therefore hmit the diagnoses of the genera to the 

 few points, in which, in the absence of a skull of the small species, 

 they are known to differ*. 



Myrmecophaga, Linnseus. 



Fore-feet with four toes ; hind-feet with five toes ; palatine and 

 pterygoid bones united beneath the nasal canal for their whole length. 



M. JUBATA, Linn. 



Varied with black and grey, the latter predominating on the head, 

 back, sides, fore-limbs and tail ; throat, a mark running obliquely 

 from the shoulder upwards and backwards, and hind-Umbs black ; fur 

 very coarse ; tail but little longer than the body, very bushy. 



M. Tamandua. 



Head, shoulders, fore-Umbs, outside of the hind-limbs, and middle 

 third of the tail white ; a stripe from each side of the neck over the 

 shoulder and remaining parts black ; tail but little longer than the 

 body, its terminal third scaly. Varies chiefly by the diminution of 

 the intensity of the black, 



I have found that the Yellow Ant-eater, hitherto considered to be one 

 of the varieties of this species, differs remarkably in the length and size 

 of the tail ; the ears also appear to be larger, but this latter character 

 is less decisive, owing to the different degrees to which they may 

 shrink when dry. A specimen in the British Museum, and one in 

 that of this Society, resemble each other exactly, while a young pale 

 specimen of M. Tamandua has a tail proportionally of the same length 

 as the larger and darker individuals. Under these circumstances I 

 have been induced to propose a name for the Yellow Ant-eater, deem- 

 ing it probable that the species may be distinct. 



M. LONGICAXJDATA. 



General colour uniform Hght ochraceous, a paler line runs down 

 the middle of the back ; tail nearly double the length of the body, 

 its terminal half covered with small scales and a few scattered black 

 hairs ; ears large, round, about one-third the length of the head. 



* I have since seen the cranial portion of the skull of the Little Ant- eater, and 

 find that although the pterygoid bones do not enclose the nasal canal below, they 

 se mble those of the larger species in their great extent backwards. 

 Ann. if Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. xii. 25 



