396 



SCIENTIFIC NEVS^S. 



[April 27, I S 



Natural ^mov^. 



A DWARF ARMADILLO. 

 In South America, in the stony regions of Mendoza and 

 San Luis, and also in Chili, there lives a curious 

 little armadillo, discovered in 1824 by Harlan. The 

 inhabitants give this aniinal an assortment of names. 

 In some parts it is called y«(7« Calado (pointed Jack) on 

 account of its sharp snout. Elsewhere it is known as 

 Pichicicgo (the little blind), by reason of its resemblance 

 in size, shape, and habits to the mole. It is known 

 in Europe as the armour-plated mole, or the Chilian 

 mole. Its scientific name, however, is Chlainydophonis 

 tnincaliis, the generic name being given because it seems 

 to carry a mantle, and the specific name because it seems 

 truncated, that is to say, cut short at its hinder ex- 

 tremity. 



There are armadilloes of various growths, from the 

 giant Priodont of Paraguay, which reaches one and a half 

 jards in length, to the " encuberto," whose dimensions 

 do not exceed a foot. There is no species smaller than 

 the Chlamydophonis tnincatits, which is shown in its 

 natural size in the accompanying illustration, taken from 

 La Nahtre. The largest specimens do not exceed six 

 inches. 



Among the members of this family there are certainly 

 some better armed. Many have a covering which more 

 completely recalls the armour of imbricated plates worn 

 by knights at tournaments. Our Chlaiitydophoriis is com- 

 paratively lightly armed. Its short head, very convex 

 behind, terminates in front in a pointed cone, covered 

 behind by a projection of the back-plate. 



All the back is covered. The body terminates abruptly, 

 being, as it were, cut off at right angles, and is sheltered 

 under a solid bony plate with polygonal divisions in 

 form of a rounded shield, having in the middle of its 

 posterior margin a notch through which issues a short 

 tail, widened at the tip. The rest of the body is covered 

 with a long, soft, fine, yellowish fur, with the exception 

 of the tail, the soles of the feet, the chin, and the snout, 

 which are bare. 



The legs are sh jrt, robust, and thickset, remarkablj- well 

 adapted for digging. The fore-feet especially are each 

 armed with five enormous claws, bent backwards. The 

 hind legs, which are weaker, have also five toes, but 

 the claws are less strong, obtuse, straight, and flattened, 

 whilst those of the fore-feet are in the shape of the blade 

 of a scythe, sharp at the outer edge; they become larger 

 and longer from the second to the outer claw, which is 

 broad and flattened like the iron of a spade. 



The dentition follows the ordinary type of an arma- 

 dillo ; there are eight to ten pairs of teeth in each jaw ; 

 no incisors and no canines. The molars, completely 

 cased in enamel, have no roots, and are hollow in their 

 lower part. The middle tooth in each row is the largest, 

 while the others decrease towards both ends. The 

 mouth is very small, and opens beneath an acute, carti- 

 laginous muzzle, resembling in miniature the snout of a 

 pig. It does not even reach to the line of the eye, and 

 is bounded by projecting lips, almost of a leathery texture. 

 The tongue is long and fleshy. 



The armour of the Chlamydophonis is of a horny con- 

 sistence, of a whitish or yellow colour, moderately thick, 

 and not very flexible, but the movements of flexion of 

 the body are assisted by the manner in which the bands 

 of the armour are joined together. Each band is con- 



nected with its neighbours by a membrane which allows 

 of a certain extension, so that the animal can roll itself 

 into a ball like the wood-lice. The back-armour is 

 tormed of twenty-four transverse bands, composed each 

 of seven or eight scales, then of fifteen to seventeen, 

 eighteen to twenty-four as we approach the posterior 

 region, the body becoming gradually broader from 

 the shoulders to the loins. These scales are irregular, or 

 tuberculous in the fore-parts, but regular and rectangular 

 in the posterior region. 



The shield which covers the posterior part, forming a 

 right angle with the rest of the body, is quite inflexible. 

 It consists of five or six concentric ranks of pieces 

 arranged in a semi-circle, each of these small shields 

 being square or lozenge-shaped. The upper and largest 

 range consists of twenty scales ; the last and smallest only 

 of six. The entire shield is connected with the pelvis, 

 firmly soldered to its apophyses, but the back-plate does 

 not adhere so firmly to the back of the animal. It lies 

 free, and is only linked by a membrane to the spinous 

 apophyses of the vertebral column at its middle. The 

 frontal region of the back-plate is firmly soldered to the 

 skull, and more backwards the plates are fixed by two 

 scales to warty projections above the eyes. The im- 

 movable portion of the head-armour is formed of two 

 transverse rows of four plates each, and of three others 

 of five plates. 



The eyes of the Chlamydophonis are very small, and 

 partly covered by the hair of the face. There are no 

 external ears ; the auditory passage opens into a narrow 

 orifice surrounded by a fold of skin. 



The habits of this animal are not yet known with 

 accuracy. Without doubt it subsists, like the rest of the 

 familj', on insects and worms, possibly also on roots and 

 bulbs. It is nocturnal, selecting desert and uncultivated 

 places. 



According to Goering, the track of this singular animal 

 is characteristic. In walking it trails its feet instead of 

 lifting them, and thus traces in the sand two continuous 

 furrows, which are easy to recognise. The entrance of 

 its burrow is peculiar; on g<Mng forth it throws the soil 

 which inconveniences it to the right and the left, thus 

 forming on each side two little mounds, with a hollow 

 between them. 



The Chlamydophonis is far from common, and is not 

 sought after by the natives. 



The skeleton of this animal presents remarkable char- 

 acters. Its general character is uncommon vigour, the 

 pelvis is strongly built, the limbs firmly constructed, the 

 flattened bones of the thigh and of the upper arm testify 

 by the strength of the apophyses of insertion to the 

 power of the muscles by which they are moved. This 

 remarkable genus differs in many points from the normal 

 armadillos. 



Oscar Schmidt thinks that Chlamydophorus must have 

 branched off from Dasyptts as far back as the tertiary 

 epoch. 



Vogt remarks that in certain respects this tiny being 

 approaches more closely than any other surviving species 

 to the fossil megatherium. 



Mosquito Bites. — According to the Mail and Express, 

 a strong solution of cocaine will stop the irritation of 

 mosquito-bites, and prevent swelling. This discovery is 

 very well, but something to render the human body 

 offensive to mosquitos and sand-flies would be still better. 



