Marvels of the Universe 



533 



a Great Ant-eater measures fully five feet in length, and that the muscles of its powerful and strongly- 

 clawed fore-legs are constantly exercised in digging out ants'-nests. 



The extraordinarily elongated and tubular muzzle, coupled with the tiny opening of the mouth 

 and small size of the ears, gives to the head of the Great Ant-eater a most remarkable appearance ; 

 indeed, in the ordinary and obvious meaning of the term, these Ant-eaters are the most long-headed 

 of all mammals, presenting in this respect a strange contrast to their compatriots, the sloths, which 

 are nearly the shortest. Great Ant-eaters, of which there are two species, are exclusively denizens 

 of the great forest tract of Tropical and Sub-tropical America, where they range from Honduras and 

 Costa Rica in the north to the northern part of Uruguay and the Salta district of Argentina in the 

 south. 



Much smaller is the Tamandua Ant-eater, which is also a dweller in the tropical forests, where it 

 is represented bj- several local races, but is of totally dissimilar habits and appearance. For these 

 Ant-eaters, which may be compared in size to a three-quarter-grown fox, have short hair all over 

 the body, and comparatively smooth cylindrical tails, which are endowed with prehensile power, 

 and are, in consequence, used for suspending their owners from the boughs of the trees amid which 

 the}' spend so much of their time. Owing to that perverse habit of travellers which always prevents 

 them from teUing what you want to know, it is not easy to ascertain whether Tamanduas descend 

 to the ground in search of ants, or whether they find a sufficient supply of these insects in the 

 tree-tops. 



Although the muzzle is much shorter than in the Great Ant-eaters, the mouth has a similar small 



Pftol'j 6j(] 



THE TRANSFORMATION IN FLAT-FISHES. 



IE. J. Sjntla, F.R.M.S. 



Tde most curious part of the transformation is the change in the position of the eye. The bones of the head are twisted 

 round in such a way that the second eye is transferred to the opposite side of the face. 



