ORDER EDENTATA. 297 



ralists have grounded its generic separation. The genuine 

 Ant-eaters, it must be considered, are purely edentatous — 

 they have no teeth whatever; the animal in question, 

 though destitute of incisors and of canine teeth, is fur- 

 nished with six cheek-teeth on each side in each jaw. The 

 structure of these cheek-teeth is perfectly sui generis ; they 

 differ from those of all other quadrupeds ; each tooth stands 

 insulated, at a small distance from the next, and is without 

 a root or a very distinct crown. 



The first tooth is very small ; the second rather larger, 

 formed of two united cylinders ; the third and fourth are of 

 the same form, but larger ; the fifth is the largest ; and 

 the sixth is about the size of the third. 



The body of this animal is thick, heavy, and pig-like, 

 standing low on its legs. It is covered with a short pale 

 gray fur, rather longer on the back and flanks ; rather red- 

 dish on the flanks and belly, with the feet dark brown., 



The head is very much elongated : the muzzle rather 

 pointed, but obtuse at the end ; the ears are very large and 

 pointed ; the eyes are moderate in size, and situated nearer 

 to the ears than to the end of the muzzle; the tongue is 

 narrow, and fiattish, extensible, and exuding a viscous se- 

 cretion on its surface. 



The fore-feet have four toes, but the hind feet, which are 

 plantigrade, have five ; the nails are very strong and 

 rounded, those on the hind feet much larger than those be- 

 fore, all of them approximating the character of solid hoofs, 

 and eminently qualified for digging. 



The tail is round, very long, strong and thick, near at its 

 insertion and tapering gradually to a point. 



The skin is very thick ; and the hairs, being harsh and 

 scanty, give it another pachydermatous character, and the 

 arrangement of the bones of the tarsi and metatarsi is also 

 analogous to the animals of that order. We, therefore, ob- 



