184 NATURAL HISTORY. 



tapering tail is about a foot and a half in length. Hence the head is small for the body in this 

 Armadillo, and the forehead is protuberant, and the face is very tubular and cylindrical-looking. The 

 shoulder and crovip shields are not expanded and solid, but consist of nine and eighteen rows of 

 plates respectively, and the intermediate part of the body has twelve or thirteen movable bands, each 

 of which is made up of rectangular scales, or scutes, about half an inch square. The circumference of 

 the root of the tail is upwards of ten inches, and the organ is covered with plates, disposed in rings at 

 the root, and not farther down, but forming spiral or crescent-shaped lines throughout the rest of its 

 length. 



The Great Armadillo is a persevering and most rapid burrower, and the fore limb and 

 hand are singularly modified for the purpose of enabling rapid digging and removal of the soil. 

 The olecranon process of the ulna is enormous, and the muscle of the deep flexor or tendon of 

 the claws is ossified and turned into a hand bone. The metacarpal bones of the thumb and first 

 finger are small, and so are the slender digits, but that of the middle finger is irregularly rect- 

 angular, and is broader than long, and the digit which it supports is extraordinarily short, stout, 

 strong, and broad. Its corresponding bones of the fourth finger are similarly formed, but are 

 somewhat smaller, and the fifth finger is very small. The nail phalanx of the middle finger is 

 large and strong, being curved outwards, and having a large horny hood, or core, at its base, for 

 the lodgment of the claw. There are five claws on the hands and feet, and the Armadillo 

 moves on the flat of its feet, being plantigrade. There is no doubt that, aided by these digging 

 weapons, and being of considerable stoutness, the animal makes long and deep burrows. It feeds 

 on roots, fallen fruit, and insects, and there is a story that it seeks carrion, and it used to be said 

 that the collectors of Cinchona bark in the dense forests, when they lost a companion by death, were 

 obliged to bury the body in a grave surrounded with a double row of stout planks, to prevent its being 

 scratched up and devoured by the Great Armadillo. Planks must be scarce, however, in those 

 localities, and difficult to carry ; and probably there are other inhabitants of the woods besides the 

 Armadillos which would discover and drag out a corpse. To assist the scratching and digging, the 

 soles of the feet are partly covered with flat scales. 



The Kabassous have the fore and hind extremities furnished with an equal number of (five) fingers 

 and toes respectively, but the number of teeth is, altogether, from thirty to forty. 



THE TATOUAY.* 



This Kabassou has the five fingers disposed obliquely ; and the great middle and fourth claws 

 resemble those of the gigantic Armadillo. It is named in allusion to its tail, which is more or less 

 naked, and nearly uncovered with rings or plates, so that it has not the usual tube-like protection, or 

 beautifully ornamented crust seen in some Armadillos. The tail is about seven inches and a half long, 

 and is round and pointed, having only a few hard crusts beneath, near the outer third, where it often 

 trails on the ground. The rest of its root is covered with soft brown fur, interspersed with a few stiff 

 short hairs on the upper surface. The ears are large, being nearly two inches in length, and they form 

 a segment of a circle in figure. The body is round, and the shields of the shoulder and croup have 

 seven and ten rows of scales respectively, each scale forming an oblong rectangle, those near the root 

 of the tail being the largest. The movable bands are thirteen in number, and are composed of much 

 smaller scales than those of the shields, and they have a nearly square outline. The head is long and 

 larger in proportion than that of the Great Armadillo, and it has not the very cylindi-ical appearance 

 noticed in that and some other species. The arrangement of the claws resembles that of the Great 

 Armadillo, whose they almost equal in size. The female has two pectoral mammae. 



It inhabits Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Surinam, and but little is known of the habits of 

 these Armadillos. They burrow easily and rapidly, and their great claws enable them to grasp the 

 earth, and fix themselves so thoroughly that a great amount of exertion is required to pull them out 

 of a burrow. They live on insects and on vegetable matters. 



The Encouberts of Cuvier have five toes on the fore and hinder extremities, and nine or ten teeth 



* Dasypus Tabouay (Desmarest). 



