TEETH AND GIZZARD 
animal is entirely ants; like the American ant-eaters, 
but unlike the African Orycteropus, the Mamis has no 
teeth in its mouth, though the tongue is long and helped 
by large salivary glands. Like the American ant-eater, 
the Manis has a stomach which may be almost compared 
to a bird’s gizzard. That is its walls are much thickened 
with muscle, and small pebbles seem to be also swallowed 
to help in crushing the food which in other animals is 
accomplished by the molar teeth. Though toothless as 
any hag the Manis triumphs over nature by adventitious 
help. It is said, however, to be a particularly stupid 
animal. When kept in confinement it wanders on at 
night in a straight line, like a Roman making a road, and 
if a chair happens to be in the way, climbs over it and 
falls down on the other side. All these ant-eaters are not 
purely ground-living creatures, like the aard vark. 
Many are, it is true ; and burrow therein to a very great 
length and depth. An Indian species makes a tunnel 
shelving downwards of twelve feet in length, and term- 
inates it with a comfortable chamber of six feet circum- 
ference, to rest in. Some pangolins, however, climb ; 
and in these the toes are turned inwards and downwards 
as they are in the great American ant-eater. The largest 
Manis is six feet long ; and one species, which obviously 
had to be called Manis macrura, has the distinction of 
being one of not more than three animals which have 
the longest tails. In this animal the tail is nearly twice 
as long as the body. The same doubt surrounds the 
origin of the Manis as does that of the aard vark. Its 
birth is ““wrop up in a mistry.”’ And here again no 
fossils can be appealed to, to help us out of the smpasse. 
The brain is not so helpful as it appears to be in the 
aard vark. There are, however, rather more grounds 
in this case than in that for linking on the Manis to the 
American ant-eaters, though, as already said, they are at 
present not entirely trustworthy. 
136 
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