NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO. 
225 
This animal is said to produce three or four young at a time. Its flesh 
is eaten by the Spaniards and natives. It has been described to us by 
Americans who ate of it during the Mexican war, to be about equal to the 
meat of the opossum ; we have heard, however, from South Americans, 
that it is considered quite a delicacy, being white, juicy, and tender ; it 
is cooked by roasting it in the shell. 
The South American negroes catch the Armadillo at night. When they 
are in the woods their dogs scent the animal and run it to its hole (if it be 
near enough to its retreat to reach it). It is then dug out by the blacks, 
although sometimes known to excavate its burrow to a considerable depth 
below its usual place of rest, whilst the diggers are at work after it. Two 
or three of these animals generally keep together, or near each other, and 
the negroes always expect to kill more, when they have captured one. 
They are said to run pretty fast when trying to reach their holes, but. the 
manner of their gait at such times is not known to us. Their holes are 
often dug in the sides of steep banks or hills, and in thick and dense parts 
of the woods. 
We have heard that in some parts of Nicaragua the Armadillos are so 
common that they can be purchased for a medio — six and a quarter cent 
piece. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 
This animal is described as existing in Brazil in South America ; it is 
found in Guiana and Central America, is common in Mexico, and is found 
in the southern portions of Texas. It is not very uncommon near the 
lower shores of the Rio Grande. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
It is stated that another species of Armadillo inhabits the northern 
part of Mexico and penetrates also into Texas. Thus far, however, we 
have been unable to detect any other species than the present as having 
been seen within the geographical limits to which this work has been 
restricted. 
It is now ascertained that the number of bands on the Armadillo forms 
no safe guide in designating the species, inasmuch as the bands vary in 
different individuals of the same species, and D’Azara, moreover, has 
shown that there are individuals of different species which have the same 
number of bands. 
vol. in. — 29 
