Armadillo

“ The under part of the body has no scales, but is covered with hair.
The armadillo has short legs with five-toed feet, each toe being furnished with a strong claw. The ears are very large; the eyes are small; the nostrils are set at the end of the long, pointed snout. The smallest of the species is about the size of a rat; the great armadillo is a yard long, and has in its widely opening mouth ninety-eight teeth.
Instead of living on trees like the sloth, it burrows in the ground; the rooms and galleries which they fashion for themselves are like those of the mole, only larger. ”

“ The armadillo, remarkable for its laminated shell, when baked in its scaly coat is a good treat, the flesh being considered delicate eating, somewhat like a rabbit in taste and colour. The flesh of the large twelve-banded Brazilian one (Dasypus Tatouay) is said to be the best of all. In South America there are several species of armadillo, all of which are used for food when met with.
Mr. Gosse states, that this animal feeds upon soft ground fruits and roots, and also on carrion, whenever it can find it ”

“ I was much impressed by this unexpected exhibition; evidently this species of armadillo only curls up as a last resort, and ordinarily trusts to its speed, and to the protection its build and its armor give it while running, in order to reach its burrow or other place of safety. ”

“ At Accra, I received a present of an armadillo, or ant-eater, who is certainly a wonderful animal, and well worth studying, in the tedium of a calm between the tropics. The body proper is but about nine inches, but, when stretched at length, he covers an extent of two and a half feet, from head to tail, and is wholly fortified with an impenetrable armor of bony scales. On any occasion of alarm, it is his custom to thrust his long nose between his hind-legs and roll his body and tail compactly together, so as to appear like the half of a ball, presenting no vulnerable part to an enemy. ”

“ There is nothing, however, that seems to preclude their being dogs and, in our opinion, they represent this animal.
Nine-banded Armadillo (Tatu novemcinctum) . This is the common species of armadillo (Maya, wetš) found throughout the warmer portion of Mexico and Central America, where it is frequently used as an article of food, and its shell-like covering is utilized in various ways. Several representations of it occur in the Tro-Cortesianus (Pl. 29, figs. 1-4) , where it is characterized by its scaly covering, long ears and tail, and the moveable bands about the body. ”

“ Another mail-clad animal of importance is the armadillo of the tropical and temperate regions of South America. He is nocturnal in habits, sleeping in his underground home during the day, and coming out at night to seek for food. This underground home is rather large, and the nursery is well protected from enemies by its location. In it the mother armadillo rears her young until they are large enough to care for themselves. ”

“ In the later ages of armour, the thighs, instead of being enclosed in steel coverings with cuisses, were defended by a number of steel plates called “tassets.” Now these tassets are exactly like the defensive armour of the Armadillo’s back, and,{123} though it is not likely that the inventor of tassets should have seen an Armadillo, the fact still remains, that Art has been anticipated by Nature.
Exactly the same principle is seen in that wonderful little animal, the Pichiciago of South America, which is shown in the lower left-hand figure of the illustration. ”

“ What a curious looking animal it is, with its shell of horny plates, and a white horn on its back through which it blows and makes a loud noise! When in danger, it draws itself completely within its shell. The flesh is a great dainty, but the little animal is hard to catch. The negroes on some of the West Indian islands belonging to England call the armadillo "hog-in-armour." Not a bad name, is it?
Manuel and Dolores, still mounted on their patient little donkeys, leave the woods, and come out upon a path leading through their father's coffee plantation. ”

“ See those great waddling beasts [4] with stout short legs, and enormous hoof-like claws so bent inward that the creatures are obliged to walk on the edge of their paws,—they are equally busy with the insects, tearing apart with their powerful claws the earthy nests as fast as they are built, and devouring the makers themselves by wholesale. Here is a wonderful creature, a vast armadillo, with a body as big as a rhinoceros, covered with a convex oval shield, formed of hexagonal plates accurately fitted to each other. ”

“ Nothing is more impervious to criticism (or anything else, if you come to that) than an armadillo. He should have been born a minor poet. An oyster appears to care very little for what is said of him, but a good deal of his indifference is assumed; you often catch him opening his shell to listen. The armadillo won't open his shell for anything—figuratively as well as literally speaking. If a raging mad jaguar prances up to an armadillo, the armadillo curls up quietly with an expression that says: "Really, you excite yourself overmuch ”

“ This tongue, perfectly unique in its character, stretches out in its murderous exertions to nearly three times the length of the animal's long head. What a distance there seems between such a tongue as this and your own little doorkeeper! But no wonder: we have now reached the confines of the kingdom of Mammalia, and the face of nature is beginning to change.
The Armadillo, for instance, which comes next to the ant-eater, looks far more like the tortoise or lizard than its noble mammalian brethren. ”

“ As the armadillo supplied the only food he secured, or could have secured, during six days of a most arduous and nerve-racking advance through a country which offered every sort of obstacle to the explorer, it is not to be wondered at if Power came to believe that he would yet emerge in safety from the perils confronting him. ”

“ Having wound around the point of a sierra, our caravan kept on until dusk, when we camped for the night, supping upon beef and four armadillos, which the peons had caught during the day in the grass.
The armadillo is a singular animal, both in appearance and mode of living. Four species are found upon the pampas. In Buenos Ayres they are known by the general name of peluda. Darwin applies this term to a particular species—Dasypus villosus. ”

“ The armadillo and iguana are preferred for food, however. It is not an easy matter to catch an armadillo. It has a shell on its back, and into this it promptly retreats at the first sign of danger. It has a long, pointed snout and strong, sharp claws. ”

“ Hares abound in the neighbourhood, and at the approach of the train great numbers of the animals speed away behind the sheltering boulders. The armadillo, too, is especially plentiful in this region, which seems to favour the partridge and martineta almost equally well. ”

“ All species of the armadillos are powerful burrowers, and they are well equipped for their tunnelling in the earth with strong fore limbs. They feed upon all kinds of insects and animal substances. It is claimed that the giant armadillo is a veritable grave-robber and sometimes digs up dead bodies for the purpose of eating them.
These animals are plentiful upon the savannas of South America, and they feast upon the bodies of dead cattle. So hard are their coats of armour that the Gauchos sharpen their Spanish knives, which they always carry, upon them. ”

“ The armadillo feeds on all vegetable or animal matter not too hard for its sharp teeth. It is especially useful in devouring the offal or the putrid carcasses of animals which might otherwise affect the air. ”

“ The burrows of this Armadillo are several feet long, winding and generally dug at an angle of 45 degrees. The South American negroes, however, dig them up from their holes, whither they have been driven by Dogs. Their flesh is considered very delicate, and is roasted in the shell. ”

“ It is very tenacious of life, getting up and running away when every bone in its body appears to be broken by the blows which have been inflicted on it. In the woods an Armadillo (Tatusia peba) is not uncommon, the stewed flesh of which makes excellent food ”

“ They are well protected with a hard, strong shell which covers their backs, and when in danger they can move very quickly on their short, strong legs, or can bury themselves underground until the danger that threatens them is past. Night is the best time to catch them, and dogs are used in the pursuit. The armadillo is found all over South America, and in the lone caves of Brazil the fossil remains of gigantic ancestors of this creature as large as the rhino of Africa have frequently been discovered. ”

“ That's going to be your trouble--judgment about yourself--once I knew a man who worked two years on the brain of an armadillo, with the idea that he would sooner or later know more about the brain of an armadillo than any one. ”

“ Of the Dasypidæ there are only, beside the sloth, various armadillos and an ant-eater in this place. The armadillo is a placid creature, with none of the warlike disposition that its armour might lead some to expect. Mild and placable, as well as rather bashful, it has somewhat the character of a beplated and armed theatrical super, who plays the flute and teaches in a Sunday-school when off duty. It is susceptible to cold, too, and regardless of any heroism of appearance in face of a chill in the air. ”

“ Among carnivorous creatures the very opposite is sometimes the truth; and some animals—as the tapir, for instance—that feed exclusively on sweet and succulent vegetables, produce a most bitter flesh for themselves. About this there is no standing law either way.
The flesh of the armadillo is excellent eating, not unlike young pork, and, when “roasted in the shell” (the Indian mode of cooking it) , it is quite equal, if not superior, to a baked “pig,” a dish very much eaten in our own country.
Guapo did not call them armadillos—he had several Indian names for different kinds of them. ”

“ Certain of the vertebrae in the neck and in the lumbar region are firmly welded together, giving of course a strength of push, and suggesting the Armadillos; the claws of the third and fourth front-toes are greatly enlarged, and must be efficient digging organs. The track of the animal is like that of a railway in mountainous country; it burrows for a short distance, emerges, and then descending beneath the surface re-emerges. The red colour of the fur is said to be in harmony with the arid soil in which it lives. ”

“ When we see how well they are protected, and also remember that they are extremely quick burrowers and can get out of the way of dangerous enemies, while they feed on vegetables, insects, and dead creatures, we see why the plains and forests of South America should abound in armadilloes of all sizes, from the Great Armadillo, as large as a moderate-sized pig, to the little Pichiciago, not larger than a rat. ”

“ Probably the speed with which an armadillo—there are several different species in the Silver West—disappears at the scent of any one belonging to the genus homo, is caused by the decided objection he has to be served up as a side-dish. ”

“ Armadillo killing Snake.
captures mice; when preying on snakes it proceeds in another manner. A friend of mine, a careful observer, who was engaged in cattle-breeding amongst the stony sierras near Cape Corrientes, described to me an encounter he witnessed between an armadillo and a poisonous snake. While seated on the hillside one day he observed a snake, about twenty inches in length, lying coiled up on a stoue five or six yards beneath him. By-and-by, a hairy
Some curious Animal Weapons. ”

“ It's a little bit of both, and I don't know its proper name.'
'Nonsense!' said Mother Jaguar. 'Everything has its proper name. I should call it "Armadillo" till I found out the real one. And I should leave it alone.'
So Painted Jaguar did as he was told, especially about leaving them alone; ”

“ So, lying down close together, with their spears at hand, they were soon asleep, with the happy carelessness of danger peculiar to youth.
With the first streak of daybreak, they were up and on their way. Until midday they came upon no water, their only excitement being the killing of an armadillo. Then they saw a few bushes in a hollow and, making towards it, found a small pool of water. After a hearty drink, leaves and sticks were collected, a fire made, and slices of the smoked deer's meat were soon broiling over it. ”

“ Armadillos are mostly confined to South America, and occur both in the open pampas and the shady depths of the forest. They live in burrows, which they dig with incredible speed. These burrows are generally found in the vicinity of the nests of ants and termites, which form their staple diet. One species, however, at least feeds apparently with equal relish upon vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, mice, snakes, and carrion. ”

“ What affinity there is existing between this quadruped and the finny inhabitants of the water, prompting their classification among amphibia, I was unable to ascertain; but although the capyvara and several others placed by the church under that category, possess, it is true, great powers of resistance while in water, the reverse is assuredly the case with regard to the armadillo, which always seeks the higher{247} grounds so as to escape submersion during the great floods ”

“ On the other hand, three groups of edentates, two of them now extinct, were very copiously represented in the Santa Cruz formation, the armadillos, †glyptodonts and †ground-sloths. Of the many armadillos, some quite large, others very small, only a few can be regarded as directly ancestral to those now in existence; the truly ancestral forms were probably then living in the forests of Brazil and northern Argentina, in the same areas as the ancestral tree-sloths and anteaters. ”