1934] Hatt, American Museum Congo Expedition Pangolins and Aard-Varks 669 



External Characters. — The ears of an adult female were whitish 

 pink on the inside. The irises of this and another individual were a very 

 dark brown. 



The skin, particularly on the neck, was arranged in tiny folds. 

 There was a pouch on either side of the vulva that contained a strongly 

 smelling matter. 



There are two pairs of abdominal mammae. 



Digestive Tract.— In an individual 1780 mm. in total length the 

 small intestine measured 4520 mm., the large intestine 2450, and the 

 caecum 130 mm. The digestive tract at the base of the latter was 

 greatly enlarged. Near the pylorus was a large muscular gland. 



Food. — The stomachs of five contained termites, so well chewed up 

 that none were complete. 



Locomotion and Feeding. — Mr. Lang wrote that the aard-vark 

 usually walks on tiptoes, though it may progress for a few steps with the 

 whole hind foot resting on the ground. When walking, the nose is kept 

 close to the ground, and then the nostrils are opened and shut by con- 

 tracting the skin muscles pulling from the rear. The tail tip touches the 

 ground when the animal is moving. The animal frequently sits on its 

 haunches and when digging assumes this position. The tail, then, bears 

 considerable weight. 



The thick heavy claws borne by the muscular fore limbs are nearly 

 straight, and with these chisel-like points the aard-varks have no difficul- 

 ty in breaking into the hard, solid structures of the termites. These 

 animals are licked up by the hundreds with the long slimy tongue as 

 they assemble quickly in large masses near the point of destruction, 

 either to defend their home or to repair it. 



Burrows. — The field book carries the following note on burrows: 

 "The Orycteropus live in burrows (probably in small families or singly) 

 which they dig themselves in dry, hard ground. The excavated ground 

 is thrown up in small hillocks close to the opening. These burrows are 

 fairly large, the size of the tunnels allowing a small man to enter without 

 great difficulties. Of seven burrows I have seen, two had only one 

 entrance, four had two and one had three. The entrances of one tunnel 

 were about 14 meters from one another at the maximum. All these 

 burrows were deserted, and it is probable that they inhabit several 

 burrows alternately, and it is sure that they occasionally dig a hole 

 simply for shelter." (Plate XXXVII, figure 2.) 



Time of Activity. — "The Orycteropus," observes Mr. Lang, "is 

 rather difficult to procure, not only an account of its nocturnal habits, 



