ANT-EA TERS. 
209 
That the ground-sloths were herbivorous is evident from the structure of their 
teeth; while it is obvious that creatures which must have weighed several tons 
when in the flesh could not have been climbers. Their bodies were probably 
clothed with coarse hair some¬ 
what like that of the ant-eater; 
but there is evidence that the 
mylodon had also a number of 
small bony plates embedded in 
its skin. From the enormous 
width and massiveness of the 
pelvis of the ground - sloths, 
coupled with the extraordinary 
size of the bones of the tail, it 
is probable that these creatures 
were in the habit of procuring 
their food by supporting them¬ 
selves on the tripod formed by 
their hind-limbs and tail, and rearing their bodies against the trunks of trees, from 
which the boughs were then dragged down by the powerful arms. Possibly, how¬ 
ever, the megathere, as suggested by the late Prof. Parker, may in some cases have 
bodily uprooted trees, by first digging a hole at their roots with its powerful front 
claws, and then grasping the trunk with its arms, and swaying it to and fro till it 
fell with a crash. It may be added that the ground-sloths resembled the ant-eaters 
and sloths in walking on the outer sides of their enormous fore-feet; but they 
differed from the latter in also applying only the outer side of the hind-feet to the 
ground. All these gigantic forms lived during the Pleistocene period; but in the 
lower Tertiaries of Patagonia they are represented by the much smaller Eucholoeops, 
in which the skull was only some 5 inches in length; the teeth resembling those of 
the megathere. 
PALATAL VIEW OF SKULL OF EXTINCT GKOUND-SLOTH 
(mylodon).— After Owen. 
The Ant-Eaters. 
Family M YRMECOPIIAGIBJE. 
The ant-eaters, or, as they are often called, ant-bears, differ so widely in 
appearance and structure from the sloths that it is difficult to believe at first sight 
in their close relationship; indeed, had it not been for the fortunate preservation 
of the remains of the ground-sloths, it may be questioned whether even zoologists 
would have fully understood the alliance of the two. As it is, we have an excellent 
example of the effects of adaptation to widely different modes of life in modifying 
the organisation of nearly allied animals. In the present instance the extinct 
ground-sloths are probably the least removed from the original common type. 
In the sloths the needs of a purely arboreal life have led to a great elongation of the 
fore-limbs, coupled with the reduction of the digits to a few hook-like claws, and 
the functional loss of the tail. In the other group, the ant-eating habit has led 
to an extraordinary elongation of the skull, with the loss of all traces of teeth. 
VOL. in.— 14 . 
