BAHIA BLANCA chap. 



must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although they 

 were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued vainly 

 to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their nests. 

 I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to daylight 

 on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous 

 fact. 



I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common 

 in this country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, 

 the Dasypus minutus or pichy, the D. villosus or peludo, and 

 the apar. The first extends ten degrees farther south than any 

 other kind : a fourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far 

 south as Bahia Blanca. The four species have nearly similar 

 habits ; the peludo, however, is nocturnal, while the others 

 wander by day over the open plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, 

 roots, and even small snakes. The apar, commonly called 

 mataco, is remarkable by having only three movable bands ; 

 the rest of its tesselated covering being nearly inflexible. It 

 has the power of rolling itself into a perfect sphere, like one 

 kind of English woodlouse. In this state it is safe from the 

 attack of dogs ; for the dog not being able to take the whole 

 in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball slips away. 

 The smooth hard covering of the mataco offers a better defence 

 than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. The pichy prefers a 

 very dry soil ; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for 

 many months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort : it 

 often tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. 

 In the course of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were 

 generally met with. The instant one was perceived, it was 

 necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off" one's horse ; 

 for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder 

 quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. It 

 seems almost a pity to kill such nice little animals, for as a 

 Gaucho said, while sharpening his knife on the back of one, 

 ' Son tan mansos " (they are so quiet). 



Of reptiles there are many kinds : one snake (a Trigono- 

 cephalus, or Cophias, subsequently called by M. Bibron T. 

 crepitans), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must 

 be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, 

 makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate 

 between it and the viper. In confirmation of this opinion, I 



