EDENTATA. 



123 



that, wlien these animals advance [on tlie ground], they arc oljliged to drag themsehes forward on their 

 elbows. The pelvis is so lai-ge, and the thighs so much directed outwards, that they cannut apjtroxi- 

 niate their knees. Their gait is the necessary consequence of so disproportioncd [unusual] a struc- 

 tin-e.* These animals inhabit trees, and never remove from that on wliich they are located until ihey liave 

 stripped id of every leaf, so painful to them is the requisite exertion to roach another ; it is even 

 asserted that tlicy let themselves fall from a branch to avoid the laiiour of deiccndijig. [Tlie trutii is, 

 that these animals are modified for hanging by their hmhs to the branches -of trees, instead of sup- 

 l»orting themselves upon the liinlis like others: in this, their only natural posture, they are liy no 

 means sldw in their movements; and they inlia1)it tlic dcusely intertangled forests of Soutli Amciica, 

 wdiere liundveds of miles may be traversed by passing from one tree to another: clinging by the hinder 

 claws, the posterior hrabs securely embracing the bough, and generally by one of then- fore-hmbs also, 

 they employ the other to hook towards thein the foliage on which they browze, whence the great 

 length of their arms : and it is observed that in more open places, where the trees ai'e less contiguous, 

 the Sloths take advantage of windy weather to effect their transits, when the houghs are blown 

 loji;ethcr and commingled. Their long and coarse shaggy hair protects them from insects : and in 

 short, as is well remarked by Professor Buckland, the peculiar conformation of these animals ouglit no 

 more to excite our pity and compassion, than the circumstance of fishes being dejirivcd of legs. They 

 arc just as admirably adapted and fitly organized for their appointed singular mode of life as any other 

 animal "whatever.] The female produces but one young one at a Ijirth, which she carries on her liack. 

 The viscera of the.sc animals are not less singular than the rest of their cunformarion. Theu' stomach 

 [uf ciiormons size] is divided into four compartments, somewhat analogous to the four stomachs of 

 the ruminants, hut without leailets or other internal projecting parts ; "while the intestinal eanal is 

 sliort, and "^dthout a eeecum. 



M. F. Citvier applies the name Acheus to such of them as have three claws on their fore-feet ; they 

 have a very short tail. 



Tlie Ai {Br. fr/<?acfi/I/.n-, Lin.) is the species in "which ah the 

 pecuharities of its genus ave developed to the greatest extent. 

 Its thumb and little toe, reduced to small rudiments, are 

 concealed by the skin, and soldered to the metatarsus and 

 metacarpus ; the clavicle, also, reduced to a nadiment, is sol- 

 dered to the acromion. Its ai'ms are twice as long as its legs ; 

 the hair of its head, back, and limbs is long, coarse and un- 

 elastic, bearing some resemblance to dried grass, which gives 

 it a forbidding- aspect. The colour is greyish, often spotted 

 ■" i' '-''Jjy \ .yi?r^V'>""^~^ ^^''*''^ brown and white, [particularly "when young-]. Size that 



^"^^Jitf' j-;)y')"^ ■'^^'" - - ■ of a Cat. It is the only known mammalian "whicli has nine 



a^lVva^^^? 'y- , cervical vertebrie [the fact being-, that the eig"hth and ninth 



~" _^^_^ ., sapport rudimental ribs (as shown at Yi^. 2, p, 39), and are 



^-J^^^ — '■<^.^^^-J^'-ij:r^''^y- therefore dorsal vertebra:, as in all the rest of the class: the 



Fig. 4!).— The Ai, or Coinm.jii si"th more Complete rotation of the neck, however, thus acquired 



by this extraordinary animal, having- an obvious reference to its peculiar habits]. Some varieties of the Ai have 



h:.'(.'n described as separate species, difTering however in colour only : but the Bradypus torqualua, Geof., is \'ery 



distinct, even in the bony structure of iis head. 



M. F. Cuvier reserves the name Bradijpiis for those species which have two claws only on their 

 fore-fcct (tlie C/tohPims, Illig.)- Their canines are longer and more pointed, and they are quite desti- 

 tute of tail. AYe know but of one. 



The Unau (Br. didacfj/Ius, L.), "which is rather less unfortunately (malheureusemenf) organized than the Ai. Its 

 arms are shorter, its clavicles complete ; there are fewer bones of its fore and hind feet which become soldered 

 lii^etluT. Its muzzle is more elongated, &:c. It is larger by one half than the jVi, and of an uniform greyi^h- 

 biown, which inclines sometimes to reddish. 



These two animals are indigenous to the hot parts of America. Were it not for their stout claws, they would 

 jirobably have been long since exterminated by the Carnivora of that country. [The lofty canopy from which 

 tliey hang is beyond the reach of such enemies. In their aJfinities, the Sloths are closely related to the 

 M II rmecophatjic -I • 



■*■ ■ S^ -3. 



* Sir A. Carlisle ba, 

 iicufe by subfliviiliiig 



i obKerved that the arteries of the limbs com- 

 iuto numerous ramificatioiis, whicli afterwiirda 

 trunk, from ^hiuli the usual briinehes prnccerf. 

 Iso met with in the Loris, the yrnit of wljiuh is 

 li, it is possible tbat it ni;iy exert Kunie iiillutnce 

 loiiou, [It oeeurs jtlso ia the U'hale, .'iiid the 



fjenerality of birds, being coiuieeted rather with the power of pio- 

 traeling muscular csertiuo.] Independent!)- of this, the Loris, the 

 Oiiriing-oulang, and the Coiita, all very slow .ininuila, are remarkable 

 lor the lenglli uf their arm.v [,Still iiioie so Hre the Gibbous, wbji^h 

 are distiaguished for the a);ility cf their [r.oveiiieiits.^ 



