170 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



work right through, the flesh of any victim which 

 should happen to come in contact with them. The 

 creature also makes use of its spiny -covered tail as 

 an instrument of offence by swinging it in a sideways 

 direction. 



The hedgehog is another animal armed with a 

 prickly coat, and its habit of roUing itself up into a 

 ball renders it free from the attack of all but the 

 boldest of enemies. Other mammals thus endowed 

 are the tenrec, the echidnas or spiny ant-eaters, and 

 the spiny-mice ; the latter being represented by 

 several species, one of them, known as the Malabar 

 spiny-mouse, possessing a number of flattened and 

 broad spines upon its back, while others, belonging to 

 the genus Acomys, of which the Cairo spiny-mouse 

 is a familiar example, are endowed with thick, stiff, 

 and grooved spines that take the place of hair upon 

 the hinder and upper portion of their backs. These 

 growths, however, are not of a sufficiently formid- 

 able nature as to entitle them to be classified as 

 offensive weapons, although, doubtless, they have 

 a certain degree of protective value by rendering 

 their owners somewhat indigestible items for other 

 creatures to feed upon. 



Amongst the lizards there are numerous kinds 

 which are covered from head to tail with tough and 

 spiny scales. As a rule the armament merely serves 

 as a sort of protecting cuirass and is of no use for 

 offensive purposes, but in the case of the masti- 

 gures or thorny-tails the spines are employed as 

 weapons, the reptiles lashing their caudal appen- 

 dages from side to side with a force that is suffi- 



