Fig. 105.—Chinchilla (Chinchilla laniger).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.
It would lead us too far to attempt a description of this horde of curious and interesting rodents, so only a few of the more striking and characteristic forms can be mentioned. There are two genera of porcupines (Coendou and Chætomys), both arboreal, which belong in the same family as the North American Erethizon, but are distinguished by their long, prehensile tails, which they use, as monkeys and opossums do, for grasping and climbing. The very large family of the Octodontidæ has 17 Neotropical genera and four others are found in Africa. The Degu (Octodon) of Chili, Bolivia and Peru has the appearance of a large rat with tufted tail; the tuco-tucos (Ctenomys) are extremely abundant burrowers in Patagonia, where they honeycomb the ground over wide areas. The spiny rats (Echimys and Loncheres) are so called from their appearance, not because they are related to the true rats; they have numerous horny spikes through the fur of the back. The Coypu (Myocastor) is a large, aquatic animal, remotely like the northern Muskrat, and the Hutias (Capromys and Plagiodontia) are arboreal and found only in Cuba, Hayti and Jamaica. The chinchillas (Chinchilla and Lagidium) of the Andes and the Vizcacha (Viscaccia) of the Argentine plains have somewhat the appearance of hares, but with long and bushy tails. The cavies, to which the familiar, misnamed Guinea-Pig (Cavia porcellus) belongs, are a very characteristic family; besides the true cavies, it includes the Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis), a large, long-legged, long-eared, short-tailed creature, and the Water-Hog, or Carpincho (Hydrochærus), an aquatic animal, as its name implies, and much the largest of existing rodents; it occurs in the warmer regions, south to Argentina. The heavy Paca (Agouti) and the slender-limbed Agouti (Dasyprocta) make up another family. Altogether, this assemblage of the porcupine-like suborder of rodents is a very remarkable one and in no other region of the earth is anything like it to be found.
Fig. 106.—Hairy-rumped Agouti (Dasyprocta prymnolopha).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.
Fig. 107.—Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus).—By permission of the N.Y. Zoölog. Soc.
With the exception of one genus of armadillos, which has invaded Texas, the entire order of the Edentata is at present confined to the Neotropical region, the so-called edentates of the Old World now being removed to other orders. The Edentata, which were once far more varied and abundant than they now are, comprise three groups of animals so bizarre and strange that they seem more like fabulous creatures than actual, living mammals. One group, or suborder, is that of the sloths (Tardigrada), arboreal, shaggy animals, with short, almost monkey-like head and no tail; their very long legs and hook-like feet make them nearly helpless on the ground, but are very useful for hanging from the branches of the trees, in which the creatures live. Indeed, the sloths are the only mammals which habitually hang in a suspended position. Two genera of sloths inhabit the tropical forests, between which the most obvious difference is that in one (Bradypus) the forefoot has three toes, and in the other (Cholœpus) two.
Fig. 108.—Two-toed Sloth (Cholœpus didactylus).—By permission of W. S. Berridge, London.
The suborder of the anteaters (Vermilingua) is more varied, and is the only one of the order to which the term “edentate” applies strictly, for they alone in the order are altogether toothless. The great Ant-Bear (Myrmecophaga jubata), which may reach a total length of seven feet, has an extravagantly long, slender and nearly cylindrical head, long, shaggy, black and white hair and an immense, bushy tail; the forefeet are armed with huge, sharp-pointed claws, which are used for tearing open ant-hills, and when occasion arises, as formidable weapons of defence, for the Ant-Bear can successfully repulse even the Jaguar. In walking, the claws are curved inward and the preposterous beast rests his weight upon the outside edges of the forefeet, while the hind feet apply the sole to the ground, as does a bear or raccoon. The Collared Anteater (Tamandua) is much smaller and mainly arboreal in habits. It has a short-haired, black body, with a white stripe down the back, white neck and limbs, a colour-pattern which gives to the animal the appearance of wearing a close-fitting black jacket; the long tail, which has some cross bars, is short-haired, very different from the extremely bushy tail of the Ant-Bear. The little Two-toed Anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), hardly larger than a rat, is exclusively arboreal and has a prehensile tail, like so many other South American mammals. Sloths and anteaters are forest animals and are not found west of the Andes or south of Paraguay.