Oct. 13, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



228 



of rhinoeerine proportions. They flourished in old 

 tertiary times in that region near where the city of 

 Buenos Ayres now stands; and they were characterized 

 by having a solid armor-like covering for their upper 

 parts (carapace), and a bony dermal plate for the belly 

 (plastron). They rank among the most remarkable of 

 the extinct forms that have thus far been brought to light. 



But let us return to our own existing species of Arma- 

 dillo, which is sometimes met with in the lower parts of 

 Texas, the variety generally known as the Nine-banded 

 Armadillo (Tatusia novem-cinctus). 



The animals of this group get their name through the 

 Spaniards from a word which means "clad in armor," 

 while the common Brazilian name for them is "Tatou," 

 our animal being known as the Tatou-peba. If I re- 

 member rightly the technical term for them is derived 

 from a Greek Avord meaning "hairy-foot," and. as unsuit- 

 able as it is, Dasypus is still retained for one of the generic 

 groups. 



on each side to the elbows. It is composed of small pieces 

 adhering to one another, and disposed in numerous par- 

 allel concentric lings, having the concavity toward the 

 front, the first ring embracing the neck of the animal. 

 The buckler of the croup extends from the back to the 

 origin of the tail, and descends on each side to the knees. 

 It is composed, as in the former case, of small pieces 

 arranged m a great number of parallel concentric rings, 

 passing transversely over the hips, but having their con- 

 cavity turned in the opposite direction from that of the 

 rings on the shoulder, or in such a manner that the last 

 embraces the root of the tail. When viewed externally, 

 the little pieces composing these bucklers have the appear- 

 ance of irregular tubercles, but when examined on the 

 under side of the buckler they are found to be hexagons 

 almost as regular as those of the cells of bees, and fitted 

 as precisely to one another. Between the bucklers of the 

 shoulders and the croup are interposed a variable number 

 of transverse movable bands, marked with zigzag lines 



to feed upon some worms or roots, for all such things 

 pertain to its natural diet. If you can manage to follow 

 the animal unobserved, it may still pursue its foraging 

 until perchance it may come across some ant-hill or other, 

 whereupon it immediately proceeds to open up the nest 

 with its fore-paws and devour the alarmed insects as they 

 swarm out of their abode. As it feasts upon these it is 

 heard, ever and anon, to give utterance to a faint squeak 

 of satisfaction, a habit to which it is also prone while 

 engaged in digging its burrow or feeding upon carrion, 

 another thing of which an Armadillo is very fond. It 

 has been said also that these animals have been known to 

 burrow into human graves for the purpose of gratifying 

 their appetite in this last-named and more depraved direc- 

 tion. Notwithstanding this fact those people who live in 

 the countries where Armadilloes are found, are very fond 

 of the animal roasted whole in its shell, esteeming the 

 dish a great delicacy. 

 Let us now suppose that you have alarmed the animal 



A PAIR OF TEXAN ARMADILLOES (TatvMa novem-cinctus). From A Drawing by THE Attthor. 



To the unthinking, the first sight of one of these 

 animals would convey the idea to the mind that it was 

 a sort of mammalian tortoise, so puzzling is its external 

 structure and appearance. Aside from certain strictly 

 anatomical points, Professor Flower has characterized 

 the present genus as having a narrow head, "with a long, 

 narrow, subcylindrical, obliquely-truncated snout. Ears 

 rather large, ovate, and erect, placed close together on 

 the occiput. Carapace with seven to nine distinct mov- 

 able bands. Body generally elongated and narrow. Tail 

 moderate or long, gradually tapering; its dermal plates 

 forming very distinct rings for the greater part of its 

 length. Forefeet with four visible toes, and a concealed 

 clawless rudiment of the fifth. Claws all long, slightly- 

 curved, and very slender, the third and fourth subequal 

 and alike, the first and fourth much shorter. Hindfeet 

 with five toes, all armed with strong, slightly-curved, 

 conical, obtusely-pointed nails. The third longest, then 

 the second and fourth; the first and fifth much shorter 

 than the others. This genus differs from all the other 

 Armadilloes in having a pair of inguinal mamma?, in 

 addition to the usual pectoral pair." 



To this description I would add that the animal has 

 small, weak eyes, although the organs of hearing and 

 smell are both highly developed. Further, the legs are 

 short, and the general form squat and broad. The several 

 parts of the armor are spoken of as "bucklers," and in 

 no existing species are these extended under the belly. 



Another authority, speaking of our species, says: "The 

 buckler of the shoulders extends in front over the whole 

 neok, and toward the rear as far as the back, descending 



forming very acute angles, and in some degree gliding 

 over one another according to the different motions of the 

 animal. It is observed that the full-grown specimens 

 always have the greatest number of bands, which renders 

 it extremely probable that new bands are detached from 

 the bucklers as they are required by the increasing 

 growth of the animal. The buckler on the head descends 

 from the ears to the muzzle, and covers each cheek as far 

 down as the orbits; and there are small detached scales 

 interspersed in various situations over the throat, the 

 under jaw, the legs, and feet, and even on the outer side 

 of the ears." 



In most specimens the skin has a leathery appearance, 

 and is but sparseiv covered over with hah; we note, too, 

 that when the liead of the animal is held in certain 

 positions, the bucklers of the head and body are much 

 more nearly approximated than shown in the figure, and 

 the former being short, additional protection is afforded 

 to these parts. Our Armadillo has simple teeth of a sub- 

 cylindrical form, and peculiar in standing apart from 

 one another along on the jaw, very much as we see them 

 in some reptiles, and in dolphins. An adult specimen of 

 the Texan Armadillo has a total length of about thirty 

 inches, the body and head alone measuring sixteen, and 

 the tail having a circumference of about six inches at its 

 base. The animal is a great burrower, and being noctural 

 by habit spends most of its time by day in its burrow. 



Should any of us meet an Armadillo in its native 

 haunts, it would probably be seen to be walking leisurely 

 along, stopping every once and awhile to devour some 

 fruit or other whichhas fallen to the ground, or perhaps 



you have been watching; it immediately pricks up its 

 ears, for its hearing is very good and its eyesight very 

 poor, and most often relying upon the former while it 

 mistrusts the latter, it commences a rapid retreat in the 

 direction of its burrow. The fact flashing upon your 

 mind that this is one of its- means of defense, you put 

 after it with your best speed, and you soon discover that 

 an Armadillo as a racer is an eminent success, but being 

 well in the lead of you, and the ground being to its ad- 

 vantage with its home-base still in the dim distance, the 

 brute with marvellous rapidity commences to burrow on 

 the spot, and before you are half aware of it he has put 

 himself fairly under ground. At this stage of the pro- 

 ceedings you arrive at the scene of its newly-made retreat, 

 and are made aware from the squeaking that is going on, 

 and the way the dirt is coming out, that your game will 

 soon be in the regions below. 



Off comes your coat, and rolling up your sleeve you 

 reach down the hole after him, and soon have his armor- 

 clad tail in the grasp of your good right hand; but, lot 

 what is this extraordinary change that has taken place, 

 for either the fellow has thrown all of its spare anchors 

 overboard, or else it has suddenly been transformed into 

 some creature as big as an ox, that is if you may judge 

 from the resistance it offers to being pulled out. Extra- 

 ordinary stories are told of how Armadilloes can resist 

 almost any force exerted to haul them out of such a hole, 

 and one "traveler" goes so far as to say that he actually 

 had the tail of the animal come off in his hand, the "case- 

 hardened wretch" parting with the appendage rather 

 than give up to his efforts to extract him, 



