42 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



effectually repels any attack that might be made from the rear, 

 reminding the observer of the shell with which the testacella 

 is furnished. 



This coat of mail is as flexible as the chain or scale armour 

 of the olden times, and accommodates itself to every movement 

 of the animal. The rest of the body is covered with a coat of 

 soft, yellowish fur, nearly as fine as that of the mole, and much 

 longer, but not so dense. The scientific name of the Pichiciago 

 relates to the mail-clad body and the peculiar form of the hind- 

 quarters, the generic title signifying " mantle-bearer," and the 

 specific name, " abruptly shortened." 



The Armadillo can run with considerable speed, and some 

 species are said to be able to outstrip a man. This may pos- 

 sibly be the case in the native country of the animal, but those 

 specimens which have been brought to England in a living state 

 would certainly be overtaken by a man of ordinary powers. 

 They get over the ground at a sharp pace, using a queer little 

 jog-trot kind of movement, and display an easy flexibility of 

 body and agility of limbs, which never fail to astonish those who 

 have only seen the'stiffened specimens in a museum. 



They are mostly nocturnal animals, concealing themselves in 

 their burrows by day, and coming out at night to search for food. 

 The burrows in which they live are generally about thirteen or 

 fourteen feet in length, descending in an abruptly sloping 

 direction for some three or four feet, and then taking a sudden 

 bend, and inclining slightly upwards. In these subterranean 

 homes the mother Armadillo produces and. nurtures her young, 

 which are on an average about fo\ir or five in number. 



AU the Armadillos are natives of the tropical and temperate 

 regions of Southern America. 



The various species of Armadillo, all mailed animals, are 

 mighty burrowers, residing in holes which they have dug with 

 their powerful fore limbs, and obtaining much of their food 

 below the surface of the earth. They are carnivorous beings, 

 and feed upon insects and all kinds of animal subgtances. One 

 species, the Giant Armadillo [Priodonta gigas), is so deter- 

 mined a burrower, that it has often been known to dig up dead 

 bodies for the purpose of feeding on them. All these creatures, 

 however, are fond of animal substances, and m.any of them may 



