Zhc XCootbless Hnimals. 



EIGHTH ORDER: Edentata. 



F THE mammals comprised 

 in this order, the day of the 

 greatest development is 

 past. In the earlier ages 

 there existed in Brazil 

 edentate animals of phys- 

 ical proportions equal to or 

 greater than those of the 

 Rhinoceros; at the present 

 time the largest members of 

 the order barely equal in 

 size a large Wolf. Among 

 the extinct species there 

 were transitional forms — 

 connecting links — between the now existing families; 

 at present these latter seem in many instances to be 

 separated by wide chasms. And as was the case 

 with their extinct kinsmen some of the species still 

 living are nearing their doorn, and their days are 



numbered 



The Edentata 



a Variable 



Group. 



exhibited by 



The Edentata show little of the har- 

 mony exhibited by other orders. 

 The striking peculiarity of dentition 

 all the animals comprised in this 

 group, constitutes the most important characteristic 

 whereby they can be distinguished from other mam- 

 mals. We find animals among the Edentata to 

 which their ordinal name is applicable in its most 

 extended sense, as they do not exhibit the merest 

 vestige of teeth, while the others which are really 

 possessed of teeth, and sometimes a great number 

 of them, at least lack the front incisors. The teeth; 

 which they exhibit and which from their position 

 are strictly called premolars or incisors, because 

 placed in the intermaxillary bohe correspond so per- 

 fectly with true molar teeth in shape and structure 

 that we cannot apply to them the term incisors in its 

 full meaning. The canine teeth, which are found in 

 extremely rare cases, also differ from' the molars only 

 by their considerable length; the molar teeth them- 

 selves are of a plain cylindrical or prismatic form and 

 are separated from each other by gaps. They consist 

 only of dentine and cement, being usually destitute 

 of enamel; they are generally produced but once, as 

 but few families shed their teeth. The number of 

 the teeth is subject to considerable variation, not 

 only in the different families but also in the differ- 

 ent species of one group; some have only twenty 

 teeth, others about a hundred. 



The Claws In contradistinction to the teeth, the 

 of the Edentates claws show a peculiar development 



Peculiar. 



m 



these animals. The toes are sel- 



dom capable of unrestricted movement, but they 

 always bear claws, which engage and surmount the 

 entire ends of the digits, and for this reason mate- 

 rially differ from other claws. They are either of 

 considerable length, strongly curved and laterally 

 compressed, or else shorter, broad, and nearly spade- 



shaped, in the former case being adapted for climb- 

 ing, in the latter for digging and throwing aside 

 earth. 

 External Cover- These two features exhaust the cata- 

 ings of Edentates logue of general characteristics; for 

 Much Varied. j^ the remainder of their anatomical 

 structure the edentate animals show the widest di- 

 versity. The variation of external covering of the 

 body ranges over the greatest latitude that the gen- 

 eral description of mammals allows. Some have a 

 thick, soft fur, others a diy, wiry hair; some are 

 covered with bristles, others with scales, and some 

 are enveloped in a large, hard coat of mail, such as 

 is nowhere else found among mammals. 



The Home of The members of this family are now 

 the Eden- confined to the Oriental, Ethiopian 

 tatea. and South American zones. South 



America showing the greatest number of species. 

 Asia harbors only Manididse, and Africa has the 

 Aard-varks in addition to these. South America 

 affords a larger variety, the Sloths, Ant-eaters and 

 Armadillos being natives of that continent. The 

 Edentata now extant, as well as the extinct spe- 

 cies, exhibit a great diversity in habits as well as in 

 structure. 



^be Slotb0. 



FIRST FAMILY: Bradypodid^. 



At the head of the order we place the family of 

 the Sloths {jBradj/J>odidcs), though we must confess 

 that they are but poorly developed, dull and slug- 

 gish creatures, which excite in us a feeling of pity or 

 contempt. 

 Anatomical Peoul- Their fore limbs are considerably 



iarities of the longer than the hind ones, the feet 

 Sloths. are armed with huge, scythe-shaped 



claws; the neck is proportionately long and supports 

 a short, Monkey-like head, with a small mouth, the 

 lips being more or less firm or slightly mobile; small 

 eyes, and ears entirely concealed from sight by the 

 fur; the tail is a barely visible rudimentary stump; 

 the hair is long and coarse, becoming in old age like 

 dry hay, and the direction in which it lies on the 

 skin is the reverse of that of other animals, the 

 " grain " running from the abdomen to the back. 

 Animals living in a state of nature sometimes appear 

 of a green color, owing to the presence of a parasitic 

 plant {chlorococcus) which grows on their hides. The 

 structure of the vertebral column is quite remarkable 

 and unparalleled among mammals. Instead of the 

 seven cervical vertebrae which usually form the neck 

 of mammals, some Sloths have but six, others have 

 nine and in exceptional cases even ten; and the 

 number of their rib-bearing vertebrae varies between 

 fourteen and twenty-four. The teeth consist of five 



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