This Kabassou has the five fingers disposed obliquely; and the great middle and fourth claws resemble those of the gigantic Armadillo. It is named in allusion to its tail, which is more or less naked, and nearly uncovered with rings or plates, so that it has not the usual tube-like protection, or beautifully ornamented crust seen in some Armadillos. The tail is about seven inches and a half long, and is round and pointed, having only a few hard crusts beneath, near the outer third, where it often trails on the ground. The rest of its root is covered with soft brown fur, interspersed with a few stiff short hairs on the upper surface. The ears are large, being nearly two inches in length, and they form a segment of a circle in figure. The body is round, and the shields of the shoulder and croup have seven and ten rows of scales respectively, each scale forming an oblong rectangle, those near the root of the tail being the largest. The movable bands are thirteen in number, and are composed of much smaller scales than those of the shields, and they have a nearly square outline. The head is long and larger in proportion than that of the Great Armadillo, and it has not the very cylindrical appearance noticed in that and some other species. The arrangement of the claws resembles that of the Great Armadillo, whose they almost equal in size. The female has two pectoral mammæ. It inhabits Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Surinam, and but little is known of the habits of these Armadillos. They burrow easily and rapidly, and their great claws enable them to grasp the earth, and fix themselves so thoroughly that a great amount of exertion is required to pull them out of a burrow. They live on insects and on vegetable matters. * * * * * The Encouberts of Cuvier have five toes on the fore and hinder extremities, and nine or ten teeth on each side of the jaws, and there are two teeth in the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw, representing the incisor teeth of ordinary Mammals, and thus forming an exception, not only to the other Armadillos, but even to the order of _Edentata_, as represented in the recent period. THE POYOU, OR YELLOW-FOOTED ARMADILLO.[75]