It looks slothful enough when asleep, for then it resembles a bunch of rough hair, and a jumble of limbs close together, hanging to a branch; but when awake it is industrious in its search for nice twigs and leaves, and moves along with considerable activity. When the atmosphere is still, the sloth keeps to its tree, feeding on the leaves and twigs, but when there is wind, and the branches of neighbouring trees come in contact, the opportunity is seized, and the animal moves along the forest under the shady cover of the boughs. The Indians have a saying that “when the wind blows the sloth begins to crawl;” and the reason is quite evident, for they cannot jump, but can hang, swing, and crawl suspended.
A GIGANTIC ARMADILLO, GLYPTODON ASPER.
From Buenos Ayres. Length 8 feet 7 inches.
We now pass on to the old gigantic representative of the armadillo, the Glyptodon.[56] To the eye it resembles more or less an armadillo, and has a huge cuirass, or large plate of armour, covering the whole of the body, but allowing the head to show in front, while the legs come out beneath. Both head and tail were also protected with armour. The great shield, or carapace, in most of the extinct armadillos, is composed of long plates of regular shape, closely united at their edges (sutures) so as to form a solid piece. It is evident, therefore, that this creature, having no movable bands, as living armadillos have, could not roll itself up into a ball. The fore feet have thick, short toes, instead of long ones, such as their modern representatives have; and from this we may infer that they were not in the habit of burrowing or of seeking their food underground. The family of Glyptodonts seem to have been chiefly confined to the continent of South America, but some species are known to have extended their range as far as Mexico, and Texas into North America. A good deal of confusion has arisen with regard to the classification of these old-fashioned armadillos, on account of the fact that isolated specimens of their tails have often been found, and these cannot always be referred to the right carapaces. For example, it should be pointed out here that the tail represented in [Fig. 51] really belongs to another genus, known as Hoplophorus.[57]
[56] So named by Sir R. Owen, in reference to the sculptured aspect of the grinding surface of the teeth. Greek—glupho, I carve; odous, odontos, tooth.
[57] Greek—Hoplon, armour; phero, I bear.
In Glyptodon asper ([Plate XIX.]), the scutes of the carapace had a beautiful rosette-like sculpture, while the sheath of the tail was entirely composed of a series of movable rings, ornamented with large projecting tubercles. The vertebræ of the backbone are almost entirely fused together into a long tube, and also are joined to the under surface of the great shield, to which the ribs are united. The cheek-teeth are sixteen in number, four above and four below on each side. These are channelled with two broad and deep grooves, which divide the surface into three distinct lobes. Hence the name of the animal.