PHYLUM CHORDATA 



499 



organ. The hind-foot always has five digits" with smaller claws. 

 The tail is usually well developed. The most striking external 

 feature of the Armadillos is the presence of an armour of bony 

 dermal plates ; this usually consists of a scapular shield of closely- 

 united plates covering the anterior part of the body, followed by a 



FiQ. 1114.— Tatu Armadillo (Basypxis sexcinctus). (After Vogt and Specht.) 



series of transverse bands separated from one another by hairy 

 skin, and a posterior pelvic shield. In the genus Tolyj^eutes these 

 bands are movable, so that the animal is enabled to roll itself up 

 into a ball. The tail is also usually enclosed in rings of bony 

 plates, and a number protect the upper surface of the head. 



In the Scaly Anteaters (Manis, Fig. 1115) the head is produced 

 into a short, pointed muzzle. The limbs are short and strong, with 



Fig. 1116.— Scaly Anteater (_Manis 



(P\om the Cambridge Natural History. 



five digits in each foot. The upper surface of the head and body, 

 the sides of the latter, and the entire surface of the tail, are covered 

 with an investment of rounded, horny, epidermal scales. The 

 lower surface is covered with hair, and there are a few coarse hairs 

 between the scales. In walking, the weight rests on the upper 

 and outer side of the fourth and fifth toes of the manus and on 

 the sole of the pes. 



