THE ARMADILLOS. 



i8S 



can find upon or under the earth, and it is 

 even asserted that they attack the dead 

 bodies in the cemeteries. Their flesh is 

 highly esteemed, and the animals are caught 

 by surprising them with well-trained dogs 

 after they have left their holes. They are 

 remarkably strong, and as soon as one of them 

 has got half its body under the earth it is 

 impossible for a man to pull it out by the tail. 

 In general they run slowly; only the young 

 animals trot like guinea-pigs. From the 



large number of species distributed through- 

 out South America we select two of the most 

 characteristic. 



The Giant Armadillo {Prionodon {Priodonta) 

 gigas), fig. 241, is not only the largest but 

 also the rarest of the armadillos. It inhabits 

 the forests north of Paraguay, attains a length 

 of more than 3 feet, and is remarkable for 

 the enormous number of its teeth, which may' 

 reach a hundred. They are all simple. Its 

 armour consists of quadrangular plates ar- 



Fig. 242.— The Six-banded Armadillo or Poyou [Dasypus sexcinctus). 



ranged in bands. The thirteen middle bands 

 are movable. The middle claw of the fore- 

 feet is of enormous size. The thin tail grows 

 to the length of about 20 inches. 



The Six-banded Armadillo or Poyou (^Dasy- 

 pus sexcinctus), fig. 242, has, as its name 

 indicates, six broad movable bands of quad- 

 rangular plates, while the dorsal shields are 

 composed of hexagonal plates. The body of 

 this animal attains a length of 16 inches, the 

 tail about 8 inches. In the upper jaw there 

 are nine teeth on each side, the first of which 

 is set in the premaxilla; in the lower jaw 

 there are ten on each side. This animal is 

 extremely abundant in the Pampas. 



One of the most remarkable types of this 

 family is the Pichiciago {Chla77tydophortis 

 truncaius), fig. 243, which inhabits the stony 

 desert plains of the provinces of Mendoza 

 and San Luis (Argentine Confederation). 



This little animal attains a length of about 

 5 inches, and has a tail rather more than 

 I inch long, which expands at the end. The 

 whole of the upper surface of the body from 

 the forehead to the hinder quarters is covered 

 with a coat of armour composed of rectan- 

 gular plates, movable on one another and 

 arranged in transverse rows. Immediately 

 behind this dorsal armour comes a firm bony 

 plate or shield covering the hinder quarters 

 and very elegantly decorated. This hind- 

 shield is fused to processes of the pelvis, and 

 has the form of the segment of a round con- 

 cave shield, the segment being about two- 

 thirds of a circle. The tail projects from a 

 slit beneath this shield. The head is exceed- 

 ingly short, and is conical in form, pointed at 

 the muzzle, and arched behind. On the fore- 

 head of the bony skeleton stand two wart-like 

 elevations of considerable size. Notwith- 



VOL. II. 



66 



