SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS, AND ARMADILLOS. 187 



the claws take the form of short and blunt nails. The plates of the carapace 

 are ornamented by an indistinct granular sculpture. In size the tatouay is 

 intermediate between the six-banded armadillo and the next species. 

 The great number of the teeth— of which there are from twenty 

 to twenty-five pairs — at once serves to distinguish the giant armadillo 

 (Priodon gigas) of Brazil and Surinam from all its relatives. It is 

 also the largest living member of the family, the head and body measuring 

 about 3 ft. in length. The number of movable bands in the carapace is 

 thirteen ; and in the anterior and posterior shields of the carapace the plates 

 are arranged in rows very similar to those of the movable bands which they 

 resemble in sculpture. Structurally the feet are very similar to those of 

 Lysiurus, but the claw of the third toe in the front foot is relatively larger, 

 while that of the fifth is very small. The tail, which is nearly equal in 

 length to the carapace, is, however, of a totally different type, being 

 completely invested with large plates arranged in spiral rows. Very 

 different are the three small species of three-banded armadillos (Tolypeutes), 

 in which the fore and aft shields of the carapace are very greatly developed 

 and the movable bands reduced to three. The plates on the carapace are 

 small and tuberculated, the shield on the head is very large and flat, and the 

 extremely short tail is covered with prominent tubercles. As the borders of 

 the carapace, which are smooth, are much produced on either side of the fore 

 and hind limbs, these animals are enabled to roll themselves up into a 

 complete although somewhat flattened ball ; the shield of the head, by one 

 side of which lies the tail, almost completely filling up the front and hinder 

 notches in the carapace. The head is long and narrow, with the rather large 

 ovate ears placed somewhat low down ; while the jaws carry eight or nine 

 pairs of upper and nine of lower teeth, which are of relatively small size and 

 reach backwards to the hinder end of the palate. In the fore-foot the third 

 claw is more developed than in any other species, the claws of the first and 

 fifth toes being either rudimental or absent. The common species grows 

 to a length of about fifteen inches, and is found in the pampas of Argentina, 

 where, however, it now seems extremely rare. Trusting to their impassive 

 power of defence, all the armadillos of this genus are diurnal and non- 

 burrowing animals, generally lurking in the large tussocks of pampas-grass. 

 When running they go on the extreme tips of their claws, and scuttle along 

 at a great pace. The last genus of the true armadillos is represented on the 

 Argentine pampas by the mulita {Tatusia hybrida), and there are other 

 species in difi'erent parts of the continent, one of which ranges into Texas, 

 while another from Peru is remarkable for the thick coat of fur which 

 entirely conceals the carapace. These pretty little armadillos differ from the 

 whole of the foregoing by the close approximation of the long mule-like ears 

 (whence the name of mulita for the Argentine species), as well as by the 

 presence of an additional pair of teats on the abdomen of the females, and 

 also by the development of a set of milk-teeth. The seven or eight pairs of 

 permanent teeth are very minute, and do not make their appearance till 

 comparatively late in life. The long and narrow head is produced into a 

 cylindrical and obliquely-truncated, somewhat pig-like snout. Extreme 

 elongation and compression is the leading characteristic of the carapace, 

 which has from seven to nine movable bands ; the plates of the latter being 

 marked by a V-shaped line of punctures, while the smaller ones of the solid 

 shields have an elevated oval central area surrounded by an incomplete ring 

 of small tubercles. The tail ia surrounded by a series of bony rings, 



