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MAMMALIA. 



The Armadillos {Dasy^ms, Linn.) — This family is remark- 

 able for the very peculiar nature of their outward integu- 

 ment, which, at first sight, might lead to their being taken 

 for Eeptiles. Instead of being clad in hair, like other Mammals, 

 they haye the upper part of the head, the top and sides of the 

 body and the tail protected by a scaly cuirass, very hard in its 

 nature. This cuirass is composed of a number of bony plates, 

 arranged in parallel rows and of various shapes ; it is not separate 



Fig. 124.— Pebas [D. peba, Desmarest). 



from the skin, but forms a very curious modification of it. On 

 the head, the fore-part of the body, and the croup, these plates 

 are firmly fixed to one another ; but on the middle of the back 

 they are possessed of a certain amount of mobility, so as to 

 move one over the other. In this way, the animal has the 

 power of executing various bending and stretching movements, 

 for instance, of rolling itself up into a ball whenever it is 

 attacked, so as to hide under its cuirass all the vulnerable parts 

 of its body, that is, those which are merely covered with hair. 



The other characteristics of the Armadillos are short less, 

 provided generally with five toes, terminated by long claws, 



