152 



DASYriD.15.- 



-MAJIMALIA.- 



-Br.ADYriD.r, 



Harlan of New York, Mr. Yan-ell of London, and Dr. 

 H3Ttie of Vienna ; and eacli of these distinguished natu- 

 ralists have published lengthened memoirs upon tlie 

 subject. From their combined descriptions we gather 

 the foUowig particulars : — The molar teeth are thirty- 

 two in number, have a simple structure, and are equally 

 distiibuted above and below. The head presents the 

 figure of a cone, sharply pointed at the muzzle, and 

 widening out at the occiput ; the bones of the skull do 

 not display any trace of sutures in tlie adult cranium, 

 and over the upper part of the frontal elements tliere 

 arise two small globular osseous masses, tlie fmiction 



of which will be immediately rendered apparent. 

 Scarcely any trace of an ear can be detected on the 

 outer surface, tliis organ being represented by a patu- 

 lous opening, marked by a slightly elevated margin, 

 and situated immediately behind the small, black, half- 

 concealed eyes. The oral opening is not large; but 

 the nose is furnished with an extended cartilaginous 

 septmn internally. One of the most striking peculiari- 

 ties of tlie Picliioiago consists in the uniform hard 

 dermal armature, protecting the entire length of the 

 head, neck, and back (fig. 51). This coriaceous 

 covering is made up of numerous square, rhomboidal, 



Fig. 51. 





Tlio I'icUiciago (Clilamydophoi'uy trutic^tiis). 



or cubical plates, closely connected together by a 

 tough leathery dovelopraeat of the epidermis; tliese 

 plates are disposed in rows, of which tliere are twenty- 

 four. Throughout the greater part of its extent, this 

 shield is only loosely attached to the body by soft 

 connective tissue; but, along the central line of the 

 back, it is more finnly adlierent to tlie capitals of the 

 vertebral spinous processes, wliUst, at the free part of 

 the head, it is very finnly fixed to the two frontal 

 osseous prominences above described. Posteriorly the 

 dorsal shield terminates abmptly, imparting to tlie 

 hinder quarters an unusual appearance. This part of 

 the body, however, is carefully protected by live semi- 

 circular rings of plates, having a structure precisely 

 similar to those on the back. At the lowermost part, 

 the anal shield is notched for the gi-owth and lodg- 

 ment of the tail, into which crevice this organ is, as 

 it were, lodged, and is, under oixlinary circumstances, 

 doubled up beneath the belly. It presents the char- 

 acter of a rigid cylinder, but at the tip it is flat- 

 tened out ui a spatulate manner, to fonn a kind of 

 paddle. At the semi-circumferential margin of the 

 anal shield, and along the side of the dorso-cephalic 

 covering, there is developed an extensive fringe of 

 silky hau-s, the under parts generally being tluckly 

 clothed with fur. All the feet are pentadactylous, the 

 claws of the anterior pair being remarkably long, 

 slightly curved, and sharjily pouited ; the several digits 

 are intimately bound togethei', and are so disposed that 



the claws when actmg together form a kind of scoop. 

 The hinder extremities are, comparatively speakmg, 

 small and feeble, the toes being also more widely sepa- 

 rated from eacli other. Respecting the habits of tlie 

 Pichiciago veiy Uttle is known, but from tlie statements 

 of Mr. ClosebeiTy, the original discoverer of the species, 

 there is every reason to believe that its mode of living 

 very nearly resembles that of our common mole. It 

 dwells almost entirely mider ground, its limbs at once 

 showing how unfitted it is for rapid progression on the 

 surface. The female is said to carry her oflspring 

 beneath the margins of her dorsal shield; but this 

 statement requires confirmation. 



Family IV.— BRADYPID^. 



Following Cuvicr, some naturalists prefer to consider 

 tlie Slotlis under the family title of Tardigrada, as 

 indicating one of the most remarkable characteristics of 

 this tribe of animals. The tardigi'ades then, or, in 

 simpler phrase, slow-mo\'ing Edentates, are at once 

 lUstinguished by a peculiar conformation of the extremi- 

 ties, admkably fitting them for an arboreal mode of 

 existence, but rendering their movements on the 

 ground very awkward, for the obvious reason tliat tliey 

 are unnatural. If we examine the skeleton of an 

 ordmary Sloth— Plate 34, fig. 112— the first thing that 

 strikes us is the unusual size and extension of tlie 

 lunbs, and especially of tlie anterior pair ; the latter are 



