Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/756

 720 AKMADILLO hovered on their weather beam. It was im- perative that they should return to Spam for fresh stores. The passage through the chan- nel being closed by the English fleet, the Span- iards, now counting 120 vessels, undertook to round Scotland and Ireland. But in the neigh- borhood of the Orkneys they were dispersed by a storm. Some of them foundered. About 30 were afterward wrecked on the W. coast of Ireland. Those of the crews who escaped to shore were killed generally, and it was cal- culated that about 14,000 thus perished. The remnant which reached Spain in September and October, with Sidonia and Eecalde, num- bered only 54 vessels and 9,000 or 10,000 starving men. ARMADILLO (dasypiis, Linn.), a genus of the class mammalia and order edentata, forming a small family, intermediate between the sloths and ant-eaters, and having an affinity to the families chlamyphorus and oricteropus. They are distinguished by the possession of molar teeth only. The armadillos have a singular coat armor covering their whole body and head. It consists of three bony bucklers, com- posed of small polygonal plates set in juxta- position to one another, but neither connected by joints nor separately movable. The buck- lers which cover the rump and shoulders of the animal, each forming as it were a single solid piece, are capable of little pliancy or mo- tion save what is allowed during the life of the animal by the partial elasticity of the thin shell Armadillo (Dasypus scxclnctus or D. encoubert). or crust lubricated by the animal oils which penetrate it. These bucklers, however, are connected by a number of transverse movable bands, composed of similar plates with the principal bucklers, which are themselves con- nected by the soft and pliant inner skin of the animal, and thus admit of the most rapid motions, being situated immediately above the loins. The buckler or helmet which defends the head has no connection of any sort with the armor of the shoulders, so that the neck is left perfectly free, while it is at the same time completely protected by the projection of the skull-piece. The legs of the armadillos are ex- tremely short and stout, covered with scaly plates, furnished with powerful claws for bur- rowing in the ground, and guarded as far as the knees by the defending bucklers; these descend so low as to make a complete defence to the belly of the animal, which is covered only with a rough skin, from which originate a few long coarse hairs, and a partial one to the thighs and knees. Except in one species, the armadillos are devoid of hair, save that above mentioned, and a few straggling bristles, which proceed from the inner skin, between the jointed plates of the lumbar region. The tails of all the species but one are armed with annular bands similar to those connecting the bucklers, and in all are adapted to a notch cut out of the posterior buckler in order to receive them. The teeth of the armadillos are of simple cylindrical form, varying from 7 or 8 to 17 or 18 in number, on each side of each jaw, and when the mouth is closed shut one into another. The different species have 4 or 5 toes on their fore feet, and invariably 5 on their hind feet. Their eyes are small, their ears erect and pointed, and they have elongated snouts. They are mostly nocturnal in their habits, though a few of the species go abroad by day ; perfectly inoffensive ; are never known to bite, or attempt any defence ; but when pur* sued immediately commence burrowing, which they do with such power and rapidity that they easily evade their pursuers. The ordina- ry food of armadillos consists of fallen fruits, roots, worms, ants, and carrion. Their grind- ing teeth enable them to feed only on soft sub- stances, and therefore they can devour flesh ! only when putrid. Abundance of this food j they find at all seasons on the pampas of South i America, where cattle are slaughtered for the sake of their hides alone. On this food the
 * armadillos become immensely fat, when they

! are esteemed a great delicacy and are served up roasted whole in their shells. The armadil- los are arranged by Cuvier in five small groups, according to the arrangement of their teeth, toes, and other structural differences: 1. The cachicames, with 4 anterior toes, 7 teeth on a side, above and below, a pointed muzzle, and a long, annulated tail. 2. The aparas, with toes and tail as the last species, but with 9 or 10 teeth on each side, above and be- low. This animal has also the power of roll- ing itself into a ball like a hedgehog. 8. The encouberts, with 5 anterior toes and 9 or 1.0 teeth, throughout. In addition, however, they have 2 teeth on the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw resembling incisors, in which they differ not only from all armadillos, but from all the order edentata. 4. The kabas- sous, which have 5 toes both before and be- hind, but the claws obliquely arranged, so as to give them unusual power in burrowing and clinging to the soil when seized. They have 9 or 10 teeth, throughout; and their tails are undefended by armor, as in the other species. 5. The priodontes, or last subdivision of the armadillos, in addition to the unequal toes and enormous claws of the kabassous, have