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been found at Paraguay, were presented by a lady to Father Fernando 
Scio. Thus it appears that the remains of this extraordinary animal 
exist in the most distant parts of Southern America. 
On the first view of the head of this animal, the most striking 
agreement is observed with those of the sloths, and particularly with 
that of the a'i. This is particularly the case with the long-descending 
apophysis placed at the anterior base of the zygomatic arch. This 
arch, which is interrupted in the sloths, is complete in the mega- 
therium. The rising branch of the lower jaw resembles that of the 
sloths ; but its lower part forms a convexity, of which but a slight 
resemblance is found in the elephant. 
The bony muzzle is more projecting in this fossil animal, the 
Megatherium, than in the a'i, in consequence of the advancing of the 
symphisis of the lower jaw. The bones of the nose are very short ; 
which, from what takes place in the elephant and tapir, gives reason 
for suspecting that this animal had a trunk, which, however, there is 
also reason for supposing must have been very short. 
The teeth are sixteen grinders, four on each side, in each jaw. 
They are of a prismatic form, and have their form crossed by a 
groove. The vertebras are seven cervical, sixteen dorsal, and three 
lumbar. The megatherium, therefore, differs in the number of cervical 
from the a'i, who we have seen differs in this respect from all the other 
quadrupeds, but agrees with it exactly in the number of the dorsal 
and lumbar. The number of the ribs are of course sixteen on each side. 
The relative proportions of the extremities of the megatherium 
differ exceedingly from those of the sloths, and indeed from those of 
any known animal. In the sloths, we have seen that the length of 
the fore-extremities is double that of the hinder ; but, in this animal, 
the difference is much less. But the great thickness of the bone of 
the thigh observable in the sloths, tatous, and pangolins, is carried to 
a much further extent in the megatherium ; the length of the femur 
of this animal being only double its thickness. The inability of this 
