ANT-EATERS, 



213 



its slow and measured walk," writes Sclater, "the tail is stretched out in a 

 straight line with the back (as in the illustration on p. 211), and the animal then 

 presents a length of between 6 and 7 feet, of which the head occupies 1 foot, and 

 the tail 3." The small mouth and face are cleaned from any of the viscid saliva 

 which may have adhered to them by being rubbed from time to time against 

 the slightly bent knee. The flesh of the great ant-eater, although black in 

 colour, and musky in odour, is largely eaten by the natives and negroes of South 

 America. 



The lesser ant-eater, or tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) is 

 an animal of scarcely half the size of the preceding, from which it is 

 distinguished by its much shorter head, longer ears, uniformly short bristly hair, 



Tamandua. 



THE TAMANDUA ( J nat. size). 



and the prehensile tail, of which the extremity, together with the whole length 

 of the inferior surface, is naked and scaly. The three middle toes of the fore- 

 foot have well-developed claws, of which that on the third is much larger than 

 either of the others ; while the first toe has only a minute claw, and the fifth is 

 clawless, and concealed within the skin. The hind-foot is very similar to that of 

 the great ant-eater, and has five subequal clawed toes. The structure of the skull 

 is essentially the same ; and the collar-bones are likewise rudimentary. The whole 

 length of the head and body is about 2 feet, and that of the tail 6 inches less. 

 As regards coloration, there is a great amount of individual variation. The 

 general hue of the fur is, however, yellowish white, with a more or less marked 

 rusty tinge ; but a broad black band extends from the sides of the neck along the 

 flanks, and becomes so deep on the hind-quarters as to appear the predominating 

 colour. The tip of the snout, together with the lips, eyelids, and the soles of the 

 feet, are naked and black ; and the ears are but sparsely haired. 



