armour to accommodate itself to the motions of the body, so that some roll themselves up, as in a ball shape. There may be few or many bands present, and the extreme numbers are three and thirteen. The Armadillos are of different sizes, and whilst the smallest may be only ten inches in length without the tail, the largest are more than three feet long. The head is long, and broad at the neck, the ears are usually long, the neck is short, the body is long, round, and low, and the length of tail varies much in different kinds. Where the head shield joins that of the shoulders, there is a space for the movement of the short neck; but this is protected by a backward projection from the head shield. The throat, under parts, and thighs are not protected by armour, except here and there by small plates in the skin, or by a granulated state of it; and they are naked or hairy. Even between the bands on the back there are often long hairs, and the tail fits into a kind of notch in the last shield of the body, and its plates are close in almost all Armadillos, but not united. So that much more motion is given to it and to the body than might be expected by the muscles during their action beneath the more or less soldered bony skin. The flat top to the head, and the long muzzle, are useful to the Armadillos in their burrowing, and this is assisted by short and strong limbs armed with powerful claws. Some of the Armadillos are even capable of running with some speed; and the little Six-banded Armadillo, or Poyou, and the Matico, are very restless and active in captivity. With one exception, these animals move with the flat of their feet and hands on the ground; all have five hind claws, but there is some variation in the number of the fore claws, which may be four or five. They have simple cylindrical molar teeth, which, according to the species, are from seven or eight to twenty-five on each side of each jaw, and they are separate, standing apart from one another. Moreover, they are so arranged that when the mouth is closed, the upper teeth fit into the spaces between the under ones, and the under teeth into those of the upper, so that their grinding surfaces wear down into ridges. In one kind, there are some teeth in the pre-maxillary bones; but all the others have only molar teeth, which do not, however, go very far back, for there are none on the ascending ramus of the lower jaw. They are not, therefore, animals which prey upon their fellows, but are vegetable, insect, and probably carrion eaters. They dig and burrow, and their sense of smell is acute. This is assisted by the position of the nostrils in the long muzzle, for they are not at its tip, but rather underneath, so that they open downwards. In fact, the ends of the bones of the nose project in front of the pre-maxillary bones. The armour is doubtless useful against the attacks of their many carnivorous and reptile enemies; it assists them in burrowing, keeps off pressure, and may protect