ORDER EDENTATA. 307 



is long, round, and capable of extension, but not to the 

 same degree as in the Ant-eaters ; the neck seems con- 

 founded with the head and body ; they have no external 

 ears ; all the feet have five toes furnished with long and 

 strong nails, and they have no caecum. 



The Pangolins (an African name having reference to the 

 capability of the animal of rolling itself up), while they are 

 assimilated to the Ant-eaters on the one hand, are not un- 

 like the Armadillo on the other; their creation has the 

 appearance of being borrowed from these two types. 



The short-tailed Manis (M. Pe?itadactyla, Lin.) has the 

 tail shorter than the body, and extremely thick at its base. 

 The scales of the back form eleven longitudinal ranges ; 

 the under part of the head and body, and the extremity of 

 the paws, are naked. The length of body from nose to tail 

 is about one foot ten inches, the tail measures about one 

 foot five inches. 



It was for a long time understood, that this species, as 

 well as the following, was common both to Africa and India; 

 but our author has ascertained that the habitat of the two 

 is distinct ; the present species belongs to India alone, and 

 the other to Africa. 



Cased in armour, the Pangolin has nothing to fear from 

 the most ferocious of the mammiferous tribes ; it is said 

 that the Tiger and larger Cats can do it no harm with all 

 their hostile efforts; their attempts to crush are equally 

 vain with those of biting or tearing. 



The Pangolin does not assume a sperical shape like the 

 Hedgehog when rolled up. Its body is round, but its thick 

 and long tail (which is nearly equal in volume to the rest 

 of the animal) winds around it. 



The tail is not so long in the young as in the adult; the 

 scales also of the former are smaller, thinner, and of a paler 

 colour ; when adult the colour of the scales becomes of a 

 deeper brown ; in old age they become hard enough to turn 

 a musket-ball. 



