320 



MAMMALIA. 



hair underneatt, and capable of being twisted round any object. 

 These species are the Tamandua (M. tamandua, Cut.), an Ant- 

 eater about three feet long, which divides its sphere of action 

 between the ground and the thick foliage of trees, and the Little, 

 or Two-toed Ant-eater {M. dydadyla, Linn.), so called because 

 it has only two toes, iastead of four, on the front feet. This 

 latter species is a native of Brazil and Guiana. It but seldom 

 descends to the ground, and is not much larger than a Rat. The 



Fig. 126.— Short-tailed Pangolin [M. hrachyura, Erxleben). 



female of this species also brings forth but one at a birth, which 

 she places in a nest, lined with leaves, formed in a hole in 

 a tree. 



The Pangolixs (Ileum, Linn.) — The Pangolins are also Ant- 

 eaters, but the peculiar nature of the covering of their bodies wiU 

 not allow them to be classed with the preceding family. The 

 hair of their coat is glued together so as to form large scales, 

 inserted in the skin in nearly the same way as the nails of a 

 Man, and lapping one over the other, like the slates of a roof 

 These scales cover the whole body and legs, except the belly 

 and lower portions of the head. Hence, from their strong 

 resemblance to Reptiles, the name Scaly Lizard has been 

 applied to these creatures. 



The Pangolia (from the Javanese word Pangoeling, meaning to 



