150 Dasypid^. MAMMALIA. Dasypid/K. 
namely, the sloths. The armadillos are readily recog- 
nized by their hard coat of mail, consisting of numerous 
many-sided plates closely soldered together. The 
individual scales have most commonly a hexagonal 
form, are osseous in structure, and so combined as to 
form a series of bucklers completely investing the 
superior and lateral parts of the body. In order, 
however, to allow a certain degree of movement, a 
series of slightly elastic bands, varying in number, are 
found intersecting the dermal shield at the centre of 
the back. These zones are partly bony and partly 
integumentary, the latter structure having, a dense 
pliable, and leathery consistence. The front and 
upper parts of the head are also furnished with a small 
shield, the scutes resembling tesselated pavement. 
The internal skeleton likewise displays several points 
of interest. The clavicles are well developed, the 
first rib on either side being remarkably broad. An- 
other peculiarity is seen in the presence of a second 
spinous-like ridge, projecting from the posterior and 
outer surfaces of the scapula. This is also seen in 
the true ant-eaters, but not in the aard-vark. The 
acromion process of the shoulder-blade is likewise 
unusually prominent. The teeth have a cylindrical 
form, and vary considerably in different species. The 
feet are in some cases all furnished with five toes ; 
but in others the anterior pair are tetradactylous. 
The under parts of the belly are loosely clothed rvith a 
thin fur, whilst a few thin wiry hairs also project from 
between the scutes of the dermo-skeletal bucklers, and 
from the soft parts of the semi-elastic zones. The tail 
is long in a few species, but in others very short. It is 
usually protected by rings of small scutes, which in 
certain forms degenerate, so to speak, into mere tuber- 
cles, whilst in others this organ is altogether naked. 
The armadillos are natives of South America ; and in 
that country we find the fossil remains of an allied 
genus called the Glyptodon, which was a large animal, 
possessed of immense strength and a proportionately 
thick and complicated dermal armour. The arma- 
dillos feed on vegetable matters, and construct burrows 
into which they retreat when pursued. 
THE PEBA [Dasypus peha ) — Plate 17, fig. 56 — or 
Black Armadillo, is very abundant in the district of 
Paraguay ; being also found in Guiana and Brazil, but 
not to the south of the Rio de la Plata. This species 
has likewise been designated the Long-tailed Arma- 
dillo, the Black Tatou, the Tatouhou, and the nine, 
eight, or seven banded armadillo, according to circum- 
stances ; these bands having been regarded as criteria 
of specific distinctness, and the same animal described 
as so many separate species. The Peha is not quite 
a foot and a half in length, exclusive of the tail, 
which measures other foiuteen inches. The head 
is elongated, and much narrowed towards the snout. 
The ears are conspicuous, long, sharply pointed, and 
closely approximated. The limbs are short, and the 
feet comparatively small. The dermal armature may 
be divided into three portions, namely, tlie cephalic, 
humeral, and iliac bucklers, according to the regions 
they invest. The two latter are made up of semi- 
circular parallel rings, whose concavity is directed 
forwards towards the head, and between them are the 
bands which occasionally overlap each other during 
the turning movements of the body. The molar teeth 
are thirty-two in number ; that is, eight on each side 
of either jaw. The Peha is an expert borrower, and 
when pursued its only chance of escape depends upon 
its gaining access to its dwelling. It is generally 
found in the more open grounds and cultivated dis- 
tricts. The olfactory powers of this little animal are 
extremely acute ; and as affording an example of this 
faculty, D’Azara relates the following incident — “ My 
friend Noseda,” he says, “ having arranged a trap for 
the purpose of taking chibigazous, and having placed 
in it, by way of bait, a cock with a small quantity of 
maize to support him, it so happened that a few grains 
of the maize fell through between the boards which 
formed the bottom of the trap. An armadillo arrived 
during the night, and wishing to get at the maize 
thus accidentally spilt, opened a trench or burrow at 
some distance from the trap, and without de^'iating a 
hair’s breadth from the straight line of his direction, 
pushed it on to the very spot where the grain had 
fallen, and possessed himself of the booty.” The food 
of the Peba and its allies consists principally of vege- 
table matters, such as maize, potatoes, roots of the 
mandioc, fallen fruits, &c. ; but it also at times par- 
takes freely of animal food in the shape of ants, worms, 
frogs, lizards, vipers, eggs of birds, dead and half- 
decomposed carrion of wild cattle — in short, almost 
anything, including even the contents of human graves 
when access can be gained to them. Notwithstanding 
all this, the South American natives and colonists 
generally, pronounce its flesh to be a real delicac , 
especially when roasted in the shell. 
THE PICHEY {Dasypiis minutiis) is a very diminu- 
tive species of armadillo, measuring only ten inches 
from the tip of the muzzle to the root of the tail, 
which latter organ is about half the length of the 
body. It is an irdiabitant of the Pampas lying to the 
south of Buenos Ayres, extending nearly to the borders 
of Patagonia. The bands between the humeral and 
iliac bucklers vary in number according to the age of 
the animal. Generally speaking, these are either six 
or seven, each ring consisting of a number of lineally 
arranged quadrangular plates. The tail is scaly, and 
tolerably well furnished with hairs. The limbs and 
claws are of moderate size. The Pichey constiucts 
burrows, but is often seen abroad even during the day, 
and only occasionally retires into its habitations. In 
other respects its habits are believed to resemble those 
of its congeners generally ; and in common with the 
majority of them its flesh is highly esteemed, being 
exceedingly delicate and well-flavoured. 
THE TATOUAY {Dasipius Tatouay) is a compara- 
tively rare species fomid in Brazil and Guiana. It is 
called the Wounded Armadillo, from a notion enter- 
tained by the natives that its tail has been deprived of 
the osseous covering seen in other species. This 
organ is about eight inches in length, and is almost 
entirely destitute of any protecting crust, the naked 
skin being thinly clad with short broum hairs above, 
and a few scales on the lower surface. The body is 
about a foot and a half long, tlie head being less nar- 
rowed anteriorly than m the preceding species. The 
