ANT-EATERS. 



209 



That the ground-sloths were herbivorous is evident from the structure of their 

 teeth ; while it is obvious that creatures which must have weighed several tons 

 when in the flesh could not have been climbers. Their bodies were probably 

 clothed with coarse hair some- 

 what like that of the ant-eater ; 

 but there is evidence that the 

 mylodon had also a number of 

 small bony plates embedded in 

 its skin. From the enormous 

 width and massiveness of the 

 pelvis of the ground - sloths, 

 coupled with the extraordinary 

 size of the bones of the tail, it 

 is probable that these creatures 

 were in the habit of procuring 

 their food by supporting them- 

 selves on the tripod formed by 



their hind-limbs and tail, and rearing their bodies against the trunks of trees, from 

 which the boughs were then dragged down by the powerful arms. Possibly, how- 

 ever, the megathere, as suggested by the late Prof. Parker, may in some cases have 

 bodily uprooted trees, by first digging a hole at their roots with its powerful front 

 claws, and then grasping the trunk with its arms, and swaying it to and fro till it 

 fell with a crash. It may be added that the ground-sloths resembled the ant-eaters 

 and sloths in walking on the outer sides of their enormous fore-feet ; but they 

 differed from the latter in also applying only the outer side of the hind-feet to the 

 ground. All these gigantic forms lived during the Pleistocene period ; but in the 

 lower Tertiaries of Patagonia they are represented by the much smaller Eucholceops, 

 in which the skull was only some 5 inches in length ; the teeth resembling those of 

 the megathere. 



PALATAL VIEW OF SKULL OF EXTINCT GROUND-SLOTH 



(MYLODON). After Owen. 



THE ANT-EATERS. 



Family MYRMECOPHAGID^. 



The ant-eaters, or, as they are often called, ant-bears, differ so widely in 

 appearance and structure from the sloths that it is difficult to believe at first sight 

 in their close relationship ; indeed, had it not been for the fortunate preservation 

 of the remains of the ground-sloths, it may be questioned whether even zoologists 

 would have fully understood the alliance of the two. As it is, we have an excellent 

 example of the effects of adaptation to widely different modes of life in modifying 

 the organisation of nearly allied animals. In the present instance the extinct 

 ground-sloths are probably the least removed from the original common type. 

 In the sloths the needs of a purely arboreal life have led to a great elongation of the 

 fore-limbs, coupled with the reduction of the digits to a few hook-like claws, and 

 the functional loss of the tail. In the other group, the ant-eating habit has led 

 to an extraordinary elongation of the skull, with the loss of all traces of teeth. 



VOL. in. 14. 



