MAN 
ing to the former, this corps was called manipulus, becaufe 
they fought hand in hand, or all together. Each mani- 
pule had two centurions, or captains, called manipularii, 
to command it; one whereon was lieutenant to the other. 
Each cohort was divided into three manipules, and each 
manipule into two centuries. Aulus G.llius quotes'an 
old author, one Cincins, who lived in the time of Han¬ 
nibal (whofe prifoner he was), and who, writing on the 
art of war, obferves, that then each legion confided of 
60 centuries, of 30 manipules, and of 10 cohorts. And 
again, Varro and Vegetius mention it as the lead divifion 
in the army, only confiding of the tenth part of a cen¬ 
tury ; and Spartan adds, that it contained no more than 
ten men. This (hows that the manipulus was not always 
the fame thing. 
Manipulus is alfoan ecclefiadical ornament, worn by 
the priefts, deacons,and fubdeacons, in theRomilh church. 
It confilts of a little fillet in form of a dole, three or four 
inches broad, and made of the fame duff with the chafu- 
ble; fignifying and reprefehting a handkerchief which 
the prieds in the primitive church wore on the arm to 
wipe oft’the tears they were continually fhedding for the 
fins of the people. There ftill remains a mark of this 
ufage in a prayer rehearfed by thofe who wear it; Merear, 
Domine, portare tnanipulumJletus et do/oris. The Greeks and 
Maronites wear two manipules, one on each arm. 
Manipulus, among phyficians, is ufed to fignify a hand¬ 
ful of herbs or leaves, or fo much as man can grafp in his 
band at once; which quantity is frequently denoted by 
the abbreviation, M. or m. 
MA'NIS, / in zoology, a genus of quadrupeds, of the 
clafs mammalia, order bruta. The generic characters are— 
Teeth none; tongue round and extenfile ; mouth nar¬ 
rowed into a fnout; body covered above with moveable 
bony fcales. 
This genus prefents an appearance as extraordinary as 
that of the Dafypus, being covered on every part, except 
the belly, with llrong and large fcales, conftitntinga com¬ 
plete fuit of armour, capable of defending the animals, 
■when rolled up, from the aflaults of the molt ferocious 
enemies. This covering, together with the length of the 
body and tail, gives an afpeCt fo much the refembling a 
lizard, that the creatures of the genus are commonly 
known by the name of fcaly lizard ; and they are admit¬ 
ted to form a fort of approximation between the proper 
viviparous quadrupeds and the lizards. In their nature 
they are harmlefs, and feed in the fame manner as the ant- 
eaters, by thrufting out their very long tongue into the 
nefts of ants and other infects, and fwallowing their prey 
by fuddenly drawing it back. They are chieiiy in India 
and the Indian illands. 
1. Manis pentadaflyla, the five-toed or Ihort-tailed ma- 
nis. The tail in this lpecies is not fo long as the body, 
it is Very thick at the bafe, and from thence gradually ta¬ 
pering, but ending obtufely. The head is (mail, and the 
ears are hkewife (mail and rounded. The feet are fur- 
iiiflied with five toes each, of which thofe on the fore-feet 
are extremely ftrong, except the exterior one, which is 
snuch lrnaller than the reft. The whole animal is covered 
with thick, ftrong, and large, fcales, which, when full 
grown, are perfectly fmooth,but in thofe which are lrnaller 
they are Itriated about half way from the bafe. They are 
channelled at the bale, but at the edges they are (harp, 
round, and imbricate. It inhabits Guinea, China, and In¬ 
dia. The colour of the animal is of a pale yellow-brown, 
and the furface is glofty. 1» meafures, including the tail, 
from fix to eight feet in length. In Bengal, it has obtained 
the name ot the thunderbolt reptile, from the hardnefs of 
its fcales, which are laid to be capable ot finking fire like 
a flint. It lives in woods and marlhy places, and feeds 
on ants, by laying its long tongue acrols their paths. It 
walks llowly, and, when purlued, rolls itfelf up, and is 
then fo fecurely armed, that even a leopard attacks it in 
Vain. It is faid to .be capable of deftroying the elephant, 
by twilling itfelf round the trunk, and thus comprelfing 
MAN <287 
that tender and fenfible organ with its hard /bales. See 
the annexed Plate, fig. 1. 
2. Manis latifiima, the broad-tailed manis, denomi¬ 
nated, in the lxth vol.of the Phil.Tranf. the new manis. 
The creature here defcribed was killed in the houfe of 
a merchant at Tranquebar, having been difcovered in the 
cavity of a wall. When attacked, it rolled itfelf up in 
fuch a manner as to leave only the back and tail vilible, 
fo that it was with great difficulty killed, although it was 
often ftruck with 1 ice-ftampers, or poles armed with iron ; 
a blow on the belly at length deprived it of life. It had 
five toes on the fore-feet, and four on the hind ; the fcales 
were of theThape of a mufcle ; the belly quite fmooth ; 
the exterior fcales ended in a fharp point, fomewhat in- 
curvated ; the tail was very broad, decreafing to a point. 
It is doubtful, after all, whether this animal belongs to a 
diftinft fpecies, or whether it be a variety of the preced¬ 
ing, which is the opinion of the editors of the Phil.Tranf. 
abr. “In reality,” fays Dr. Shaw, “the differences do 
not feem fufficient to conftitute a fpecific diftinction, and 
are probably owing to the differences of age and lex. In 
the Britilh Mufeum there are lpecimens of different fizes, 
which (how thefe gradations. In one, the fcales all 
over the animal are fo regularly and completely trun¬ 
cated at the extremity, as to exhibit the appearance of fo 
many hexagons ; in another they are remarkably broad 
and rounded ; and in a third, which is a very large fpeci- 
men, they are lei’s obtufe at the tips, and fomewhat irre¬ 
gularly terminated, as if notched, or worn through age. 
The proportionable breadth of the tail alfo varies fome¬ 
what in thefe fpecimens, and feerns greateft in thofe which 
are the lealt advanced in age.” 
3. Manis tetradaCfyla, the four-toed or long-tailed ma¬ 
nis. This animal is lefs than that already defcribed ; it is 
found in India ; the fcales are much channelled, each is 
armed with three points; the under parts are covered with 
hair, and the tail is three times as long as the body. The 
legs are very Short, and fcaled like the body, and on each 
of the feet are four claws, of which thole on the fore-feet 
are Itronger than thofe on the hind. The colour is an 
uniform deep brown, with a yellowifh caff, and with a 
glofty or polilned furface. From the tip of the nofe to 
the extremity of the tail, its Whole length is about five 
feet. This is lliown at fig. 2. 
4. Manis megatherium, the American mania. This is 
the name by which Dr. Shaw has received into the fyftem 
the animals whofe lkeletons have been difcovered on the 
banks of the Ohio in America, and defcribed by us un¬ 
der the article Mammoth, p. 241. The generic name of 
Megatherium was firlt given to it by M. Cuvier, who accu¬ 
rately examined the Ikeleton ; and to the generic name he 
added the trivial one of Americanum. Dr. Shaw, wilhing 
to avoid the introduction of a new genus, has named it 
as above. According to Cuvier, the Ikeleton which he 
faw at Madrid was twelve feet long, and about fix in 
height. The fpine is compofed of feven vertical, fixteen 
dorfal, and four lumbar, vertebras. It has fixteen ribs 5 
the facrum is Ibort, the offa ilia very broad. The thigh¬ 
bones are exceflively thick, and the leg-bones Itiil more 
fo in proportion. The entire lole of the foot bore on the 
ground in the aft of walking. The fhoulder-biade is 
much broader than long; the fore-limbs are longer than 
the hind. The head is the greateft Angularity of the'ilkele- 
ton. The occiput is elongated and flattened, bat is 
convex above the eyes. The two jaws form a configur¬ 
able projection, but without cutting teeth, all grinders, 
with a fiat crown, and grooved acrofs. 
This quadruped, in its character, differs from ail known 
animals ; and each of its bo'nes, conlidered apart, alfo dif¬ 
fers from the correlponding bones of all known animal's. 
This refults from a comparifon of the Ikeleton with that 
of other animals ; for none of the animals which approach 
it in bulk have either pointed claws, or a fimiiarly-formed 
head, Ihoulder-blades, clavicle, pelvis, or limbs. “As 
to its place in the iyftem of quadrupeds,” ffiys the French 
1 naturalist^ 
