THE ARMADILLOS 
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of bony rings. When attacked by a savage ani- 
mal, the armadillo tucks its legs under the edge 
of the shell alongside its body, rolls into a ball, 
and as nearly as possible leaves nothing exposed 
save its shell. The creature thus becomes a liv- 
ing nut that is not to be cracked and eaten by 
every enemy that comes along. 
If the shell is strong enough, the armadillo 
is safe; but if it is not strong and hard, nor en- 
tirely perfect as an envelope, a jaguar or puma 
may possibly kill the animal and devour it. 
The armadillos with the weakest armor have 
found it wise to avoid the forest home of the 
jaguar and puma, and live on the open plains, 
where they are less liable to be killed. To enable 
them to do this, Nature has provided them with 
long and powerful front claws, with which to dig 
burrows in the hardest soil. 
It was in Argentina that the great armadillos 
of the past reached their highest point in size 
and abundance. From thence, smaller species 
ranged northward, until in southern Texas and 
Arizona we find the northern limit of the group, 
and the only species found in the United States. 
There are three species of armadillos that from 
time to time appear, alive, in zoological parks, 
the nine-banded, six-banded, and three-banded. 
The largest species now living is so rare it is 
very seldom seen in captivity. It is the giant 
armadillo, of northeastern South America. 
The Three-Banded Armadillo , 2 of Argen- 
tina, represents the highest degree of perfection 
attained, either past or present, by any member 
of the Family. 
Its shell is very strong, and so perfect is its 
mechanism that when the animal is in danger, 
it makes of itself a round ball, so completely 
incased in horn that no four-footed enemy can 
penetrate it. Even the top of the head is pro- 
tected by a shield which acts as a shutter when 
the animal rolls up, and wishes to close the only 
1 Tol-y-peu'tes tri-cinc'tus. 2 Das'y-pus sex-cinc' tus . 
THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO ( 1 - 3 ), AND SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO, 1 ( 4 ). 
Figures 1-3 represent half-grown specimens. 
