248 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



THE ECHIDNA OR SPINY ANT-EATEI 



of eggs, milk, and scraped meat. This animal is 

 perfectly docile, and is carried about by his keeper 

 like a verv lazv pug-dog. 



Another interesting Edentate exhibited in the 

 Small-Mammal House is the prehensile-tailed ant- 

 eater, or tamandua (Tamandiia tetradactyla). This 

 is an arboreal species, and possesses a round, hair- 

 less and prehensile tail in place of the blanket-like 

 appendage of the former species. The two species 

 were placed in the same cage, but engaged in what 

 resembled a sparring match. Owing to the dan- 

 gerous character of their very long front claws it 

 was thought best to separate them. The food of the 

 tamandua is precisely like that of the larger species. 



Among our representatives of the Edentata are 

 two species of armadillos. These are hardy and 

 hungry little animals protected by a hard, bon\' 

 covering laid over the entire upper surface in armor- 

 like formation, and divided on the back into a 

 greater or lesser number (according to the species) 

 of hinges or "bands." This hinge-like formation 

 permits the creature to roll itself into a ball in time 

 of danger, completely protecting the soft portions of 

 its under surface. Armadillos have voracious appe- 

 tites. Captive specimens thrive best on boiled meat 

 and various kinds of vegetables, and the mixture 

 so craved by most of the capti\"e Edentates — milk 

 and eggs mixed with chopped meat. Of these rep- 

 tile-Uke creatures the nine-banded armadillo (Tatii 

 novemcinctum) and an eight-banded species, from 

 Argentina, are on exhibition at the present time. 



Of all the animals in the Small-Mammal House, 

 the echidnas are the most interesting. These 



animals inhabit Australia 

 and New Guinea. To the 

 popular eye their structure 

 is bewildering. They are 

 small animals — about twice 

 the size of the European 

 hedgehog. They possess 

 short hut very thick spines, 

 n long tongue like an ant- 

 cater, feet like a tortoise, 

 and a long, slender snout 

 quite unlike that of any 

 other animal save the great 

 ant-eater. Generally speak- 

 ing, they are ant-eaters, and 

 in a wild state live in bur- 

 rows, in which the female 

 lays one or two eggs, which 

 are hatched in the same 

 fashion as those of a bird. 

 Our echidnas are restless little fellows, with an 

 amazing degree of strength, and if among the rock- 

 work of their cage are dislodged with the greatest 

 difficulty. The food of these animals is exactly 

 like that of the ant-eaters. They feed readily and 

 appear to be fairly hardy. R. L. D. 



THE ECHIDNA. 

 Showing the curious structure of the feet and under side. 



