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MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



The remaining members of the Edentata are the various 

 Ant-eaters, but these are so different from one another in their 

 characters that they form three distinct families, also distin- 

 guished by their geographical distribution. 



Fig. 2og. — Chlaniyphonti: trtmcatus. *^ 



a. MyrmecophagidcB. — This family is exclusively confined to 

 South America, as are the two preceding, and it contains only 

 the Hairy or true Ant-eaters. These curious animals feed 

 chiefly upon Ants and Termites, which they catch with their 

 long sticky tongues. The jaws are wholly destitute of teeth ; 

 the body is covered with hair ; there is a long tail ; and the 

 feet are armed with long and strong curved digging- claws. The 

 toes are united by skin up to the bases of the claws, as in the 

 Sloths ; the ungual phalanges are articulated in the same way, 

 and the palm and sole are similarly turned inwards. 



The best-known species of this family is the Great Ant-eater 

 (Myrmecophaga jubatd). This singular animal attains a length 

 of over four feet, and has an extremely long and bushy tail. 

 The jaws are produced to form a long and slender snout, 

 which is entirely enclosed in the skin, till just at its extremity, 

 where there is an aperture for the protrusion of the thread-like 

 tongue. The anterior feet have four, and the posterior feet 

 five toes, all armed with strong curved claws, which, when 

 not used in digging, are bent inwards, so that the animal 

 walks on the sides of the feet. The animal is perfectly harm- 

 less and gentle when unmolested, and leads a solitary life. It 

 lives mainly upon Termites, into the nests of which it forces 

 its way by means of the powerful claws. When the Termites 



