526 



EDENTATA. 



The Sloths (Bradypm *). When on the ground nothing can be 

 more awkward, more misshapen and more powerless than the Sloths. 

 Their short, ungainly body is supported on limbs of such unequal 

 length, that in order to walk, these animals are obliged to lean on 

 their elbows ; and their thighs are turned outwards to such an extent, 

 that they cannot bring their knees together. Moreover, their hind 



FlG. 453. THREE-TOED SLOTH, AND GIANT AKMADILLO. 



feet are united to the legs in such a manner, that they only touch 

 the ground by their outer edge, and their toes are so joined together 

 by the skin, that nothing is seen of them but their enormous hooked 

 nails, and these possess so little movement, that at a certain age, 

 they become completely soldered, as it were, to the bones of the foot. 

 When they sit upright, which seems the position least inconvenient 

 to them, their mouth is directed straight upwards, so that it is very 

 difficult for them to graze on the ground ; and if we add to this the 

 extreme slowness of their movements, to which they are indebted for 

 the name they bear, we might almost be tempted to agree with the 

 expression of Cuvier, that in constructing these animals "nature 

 seems to have amused herself by the production of something 

 imperfect and grotesque." 



It is not, however, upon the ground that the habits of the Sloth 

 are to be criticised; its home is on the trees, where, amidst the 

 dense forests that border the mighty rivers of South America, 



* />a5fo, bradus, slow, heavy ; TTOVS, pous, a foot slow-footed. 



