14C 



Manid.e.- 



-MAMMALIA.- 



-JIaniii.e. 



Order VIIL— EDENTATA. 



The gi'oup of mammalian individuals to which the 

 above title is applied, vary considerably in then' skeletal 

 characters, while the ordinal sign by wliich they are 

 indicated is altogether a misnomer. It is doubtless 

 lumecessary to mform our readers that the term Eden- 

 tata imphes that the animals thus called are tootliless ; 

 nevertheless, in a work like the present, it is not only 

 correct that as few words as possible should remam 

 unexplained, but that when an ambiguous phraseology 

 is, through general acquiescence, adopted, an explana- 

 tion of its meaning and the cause of its retention 

 should both be satisfactorily explained. We have to 

 i-emavk, therefore, that the Edentata are so called 

 merely from the circumstance that the several species 

 I if the order possess neither incisors nor canine teeth ; 

 though, indeed, an exception to this rule occurs in the 

 case of two kinds of armafhllo, the jaws of which display 

 two incisors above, i.e., one on either side at the 

 posterior part of the intermaxillary bone, and two 

 correspondingly opposed on each side towards the 

 anterior part of the lower jaw ; these latter apparently 

 being entitled to come imder the same serial category. 

 Be that as it may, if any one doubts this statement let 

 liim procure and examine the skull of the six-banded 

 armadillo, or in the event of not being able to pro- 

 cure tlio cranium, let him turn to the exceedingly 

 accurate iigin-e given in the 212th Plate of Cuvier's 

 " Ossemen Fossiles ;" and he will, we are assured, be 

 convinced as to the incisive character of tlie superior 

 ])air just mentioned, from a consideration of the posi- 

 tion which they occupy. He 'will at the same time be 

 satisfied as to the very slender groimds on which the 

 members of the present family are called Edentates. 

 In all of them, we admit, there is a more or less con- 

 spicuous deficiency of dental organs at the fore part of 

 the mouth (tig. 49) ; but, as if fmiher to demonstrate 

 the absurdity ol the common title, the molars are in 



Fig. 49. 



SkuU of the AmiadiUo. 



some species remarkably numerous, no less tlian one 

 hundred small ginnders being observed by Frederick 

 Cuvier in the jaws of the great armadillo of Surinam ! 

 But without dwelling further on this point, we pass on 

 to notice that the teeth, if considered by themselves, 

 are extremely simple both in tlieir structure and exter- 

 nal configuration, presontmg no roots at their basal 

 surfaces; this part of their conformation being hol- 

 lowed out so as to favour a continuous and progressive 

 gi'owth from below upwards. Histologically speaking, 

 they are made up of dentine and cement, and have 

 no enamelled cappings or ridges on their crowns. In 

 regard to the skeleton, strildng differences occm' in the 



various genera, according as to whether tlioy pursue 

 arboreal habits, feeding on vegetable matters, as m 

 the sloths— Plate 34, fig. 112 — or, on the other hand, 

 exhibit msectivorous propensities, and do not possess 

 the power of climbing, as in the ant-eaters — Plato 

 33., fig. 107. Among the most striking of these dif- 

 ferences are those which refer to the structure and 

 configuration of tlie osseous element entering into the 

 constitution of the head, tail, and extremities. Can 

 anythmg be more significant than the attenuated, nar- 

 row, and long cranium of MjTmecophaga, and tlie 

 abrupt, short, and broad skuU of Bradyjuis ? Observe 

 liow conversely the comparison holds good in respect 

 ot the limbs — drawn out and armed with long claws 

 in tlie sloth ; shortened and furnished with trowel-like 

 nails in the ant-cater 1 And, lastly, remark the power- 

 ful tail in the last-named animal, while the caudal 

 development of the former is reduced to a mere useless 

 appendage. It is needless to enlarge further on these 

 distinctions, yet we camiot quit tliis introductory part 

 of our subject without calling attention to the gigantic 

 sloths of a former epoch. The skeletal elements of the 

 Mylodon and Megatherium exhibit a relative niassive- 

 ness which utterly throws into the shade any features 

 of a similar kind seen in the stoutest living Edentates, 

 while pachyderm skeletons look slender and feeble 

 in comparison with their monstrous bones! The 

 dwarfish living representatives of that giant race still 

 occupy the swamps and woods of South America ; and, 

 wliilst not a few of the scaly tribe also occur in the 

 tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere, none of any 

 sort are known to inhabit the continent of Europe. 



Family I.— MANID^. 



The Scaly Ant-eaters or Pangohns are, in every 

 sense of the term, ti-ue Edentates, being altogether 

 destitute of teeth. They have a long, roimd, extensible 

 tongiie, and very smaU ears, which in some mstances 

 are scarcely visible. Speaking generally, their most 

 characteristic feature consists in the possession of an 

 uitegumentary armature of trenchant, horny, imbricated 

 scales. These are disposed in rows somewhat like tiles 

 on the roof of a house, and when the animals roU them- 

 selves up, after the maimer of hedgehogs, hito the form 

 of a ball, tlie sharp posterior edges of the scales project 

 like so many points of a cupping lancet, and together 

 constitute a powerful means of defence. Numerous light- 

 coloured hairs project from between the scales. The 

 head is elongated and narrowed in fi-ont. The limbs 

 and feet are short, pentadactylous, or tetradact}'lous, and 

 furnished mth curved fossorial claws. The tail is largely 

 developed and of very remarkable strength. The 

 skeleton displays no clavicles, and there is no coccum 

 in connection with the intestinal canal. The Pangoluis 

 are natives of the warmer regions of Asia and Africa. 

 Then- movements are comparatively slow ; tliey feed 

 upon various kinds of msects, and more especially upon 

 ants and termites. 



