310 NATURAL HISTORY OF AFRICA.' 



entirely similar, does not greatly differ from that of oui 

 own species. Those from South Africa are of large size. 



A small species (L. arenarius) about one-fourth less than 

 a rabbit, was lately discovered by M. Delalande, inhabiting 

 sandy districts in the country of the Hottentots. 



The singular family of the armadilloes would require no 

 mention in our present sketch, were it not that the laborious 

 though inaccurate Seba has represented one of them under 

 the name of the African armadillo. Suffice it to say, that 

 no species of the genus is found elsewhere than in America. 



An animal peculiar to Africa is the Cape ant-eater ( Oryc^e- 

 r opus Cap CTisis). The ant-eaters, properly so called (genus 

 Myrmecophaga\ are peculiar to America ; so that the spe- 

 cies now under consideration may be regarded merely as 

 their African representative. It is an animal of large dimen- 

 sions, measuring between three and four feet in length, ex- 

 clusive of the tail, which is nearly two feet long. Its habits 

 are nocturnal and subterraneous, and its food consists of 

 ants and termites, which it seizes with its long and gluti- 

 nous tongue, after having disarranged their dwellings with 

 its paws. It occurs in the neighbourhood of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. 



The animal kingdom scarcely presents us with quadru- 

 peds of a more marked and peculiar aspect than the pan 

 golins or manis tribe. Instead of hair, they are covered 

 with a scaly armour, consisting of numerous leaf-like plates, 

 lying over each other after the manner of tiles ; and their 

 slender cylindrical bodies and lengthened tails give them 

 80 much the aspect of reptiles, that they are very generally 

 known under the name of scaly lizards. They are harm- 

 less animals, feeding like the ant-eaters on insects, particu- 

 larly ants, which they collect by thrusting their long tongues 

 into the dwellings of these industrious creatures. They 

 inhabit both India and Africa. The species called, par ex- 

 cellence, the long-tailed (Manis tetradactyla^ Linn.), inhabits 

 Senegal and the coast of Guinea. 



We now arrive at the pachydermatous, or thick-skinned 

 animals, corresponding to the order BELLUiE of Linnaeus. 



