158 



ORDEES OP MAMMALS— TOOTHLESS QUADRUPEDS 



opening leading into the shell. It gives one a 

 very queer sensation to handle one of these liv- 

 ing nuts, and note the marvellous ingenuity in 

 design and skill in mechanical execution which 

 has been displayed in providing this special 

 means of protection for an otherwise defenceless 

 creature. 



Having such excellent defensive armor, the 



our taste. The Nine-Banded Armadillo has a 

 total length, from nose to end of tail, of about 26 

 inches, and in bulk is about the size of our opos- 

 sum. In captivity its food is milk, boiled eggs, 

 and chopped meat, but in a wild state it feeds 

 upon a mixed diet of worms, ants, snails, beetles, 

 small lizards, grasshoppers, and other insects. 

 The voung in a litter varv from six to ten. 



THE GREAT ANT-EATER (LOWER FIGURES) AND THE TAMANDUA (UPPER FIGURE). 



Three-Banded Armadillo does not often burrow 

 in the ground, and it ranges freely by daylight. 

 In running it touches only the ends of its claws 

 to the ground, and the shell is held high. The 

 head-and-body length of the adult animal is about 

 14 inches, and the tail measures 3^ inches. 



The Nine-Banded Armadillo 1 ranges all the 

 way from southern Texas and Arizona to Para- 

 guay, and along the Rio Grande is so common 

 that living specimens are sold at $2 each. In 

 Venezuela I found it burrowing on the open 

 savannas, going down about four feet, in a hole 

 seven inches in diameter. The flesh of this creat- 

 ure is well-flavored, and is generally esteemed 

 as palatable food. Being in a state of perpetual 

 hunger, we found Armadillo stew very much to 

 1 Ta'tu no'vem-cinc'tum. 



THE FAMILY OF ANT-EATERS. 



Myrmecophagidae. 



The ant-eaters form another Family of Eden- 

 tates, also confined to South and Central Amer- 

 ica, and all its members are absolutely toothless. 

 The most celebrated member of the group is the 

 Great Ant-Eater. a Although it is very unlike a 

 bear, it is sometimes called the Ant-"Bear" ; 

 and when once seen it is never forgotten. The 

 most peculiar thing about it is the extraordinary 

 length of its head, which in front of the eyes is 

 prolonged into a slender beak, with the mouth 

 and nostrils situated at its tip end. The open- 

 ing of the mouth is just large enough to admit the 

 blunt end of a lead-pencil. 



2 Myr-me-coph'a-ga ju-ba'ta. 



