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POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



TAMANDUA. 



The Toothless Mammals. — The Order Edentata contains 

 some of the most odd and remarkable mammals that ever 

 find their way into a zoological park. They are the arma- 

 dilloes, ant-eaters and sloths. Without exception, they are 

 delicate feeders, and difficult to keep for long periods, and 

 for this reason the number on exhibition constantly varies 

 between half a score and none at all! As far as it is pos- 

 sible, the species named below will be kept on exhibition; 

 but these rarities are difficult to obtain, and the supply 

 must be regarded as intermittent. 



The Nine-Banded Armadillo, (Tatu novemcinctum) , of 

 southern Texas and Arizona, and southward, is the only 

 edentate found in the United States. Its total length, from 

 nose to tail-tip, is about 26 inches, and it is about as large 

 as an opossum. Its strangest feature is the horny shell, 

 with 9 jointed bands in the middle, which Nature has de- 

 signed for the animal's protection. It lives in burrows in 

 the earth, and in a wild state it feeds on a mixed diet of 

 worms, ants, snails, beetles, grasshoppers and other insects. 



The Six-Banded Armadillo, {Dasypus sexcinctus), of South 

 America, has a much stronger and more bony shell than the 

 preceding species, but very similar habits. The Three- 

 Banded Armadillo, (Tolypeutes tricinctus), is the most re- 

 markable of all — and also the most difficult to obtain. It 

 is able to convert itself into a round ball covered at all 



