GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.A carnivorous cetacean with large teeth, often found in British seas.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.A carnivorous cetacean with large teeth, often found in British seas.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.
A carnivorous cetacean with large teeth, often found in British seas.
Having, then, shown that whales are mammals, we must now determine the chief features of the more typical members of the order. The extremities of whales are characteristic: a large head, occupying in some species as much as one-third of the total length; and the afore-mentioned forked, or lobed, tail set laterally. The flippers, which bear only a slight resemblance to the pectoral fins in fishes, are in reality hands encased in swimming-gloves. In some whales these hands are five-fingered, in others the fingers number only four,but many of the fingers contain more bones than the fingers of man. In some whales we find a dorsal fin, and this, as also the flippers, acts as a balancer. In no whale or porpoise is there any external trace of hind limbs, but the skeleton of some kinds shows in varying stages of degradation a rudimentary bone answering to this description. Perhaps however, the most distinctive feature of whales is the blow-hole, situated, like the nostrils of the hippopotamus, on the upper surface of the head, and similarly enabling the animal to breathe the air without exposing much of its head above the surface of the water. The blow-hole (or blow-holes, for whalebone-whales have two) may be said to take the place of nostrils as regards the breathing, though perhaps no sense of smell is included in its functions. In the Sperm-whale, or Cachalot, there is a singleS-shaped blow-hole near the end of the snout. The well-known spouting of whales is merely the breathing out of warm vapour, which, on coming in contact with the colder air—and it should be remembered that most whaling is carried on in the neighbourhood of icebergs—condenses in a cloud above the animal's head. I have seen many a sperm-whale spout, and the cloud of spray, often mixed with a varying volume of water if the whale commences to blow before its blow-hole is clear of the surface, drifts forward over the forehead. This is due to the forward position of the blow-hole. I never to my knowledge saw a whalebone-whale spouting, but its double jet is said to ascend vertically over its back, and this would in like manner be accounted for by the more posterior position of the blow-holes. Having filled its lungs, which are long and of simple structure, with fresh air, in enormous draughts that fill the great cavities of its chest, the whale sinks to the depths. There, in ordinary circumstances, it will lie for a quarter of an hour or more, but the pain of the harpoon and the knowledge that there is danger at the surface may keep it below for as much as an hour. When it has to breathe again, a few powerful strokes from the laterally set tail suffice to bring it quickly to the surface. This is not the place for a detailed anatomy of the whale, but no one can fail to notice with admiration such parts of its equipment for the battle of life as the structure of its windpipe, which enables it to breathe with comfort with its mouth full of water, the complicated network of blood-vessels that ensures the slow and thorough utilising of all the oxygen in its lungs while it remains at the bottom, and the elastic cushion of blubber that makes this gigantic animal indifferent to extremes of pressure and temperature. Thanks mainly to its coat of blubber, the whale exists with equal comfort at the surface or hundreds of fathoms below it; in the arctic or in tropical seas.
SHORT-BEAKED RIVER-DOLPHIN.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SHORT-BEAKED RIVER-DOLPHIN.In this type the head is produced into a beak, supported in the upper jaw by a mass of ivory-like bone.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SHORT-BEAKED RIVER-DOLPHIN.In this type the head is produced into a beak, supported in the upper jaw by a mass of ivory-like bone.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
SHORT-BEAKED RIVER-DOLPHIN.
In this type the head is produced into a beak, supported in the upper jaw by a mass of ivory-like bone.
It is not perhaps in keeping with the plan of this work that we should consider in detail the soft parts of the whale's inside. One or two parts of its feeding and digestive mechanism may, however, offer some points of passing interest. The complex stomach, which is divided into chambers, like that of the ruminants already described, has suggested that the latter functionmay in a modified process be performed by whales. It is, however, evident that the teeth of toothed whales are in no way adapted to the act of mastication, which is inseparable from any conception of ruminating, while the toothless whales have as complicated a stomach as the rest. Mr. Beddard, writing on the subject in his interesting "Book of Whales," takes the more reasonable view that the first chamber of the stomach of whales should be regarded rather as a storehouse in which the food is crushed and softened. The teeth of whales, the survival of which in the adult animal offers the simplest basis of its classification under one or other of the two existing groups, or sub-orders, are essentially different from the teeth of many other kinds of mammals. It cannot, perhaps, be insisted that the distinctive terms employed for these two categories of whales are wholly satisfactory. For instance, the so-called "toothless" whales have distinct teeth before birth, thus claiming descent from toothed kinds. On the other hand, the so-called "toothed" whales are by no means uniformly equipped in this respect, some of the porpoises having as many as twenty-six teeth, distributed over both jaws, while the bottlenoses have no more than two, or at most four, and these in the lower jaw only. Only the lower jaw, in fact, of the great sperm-whale bears teeth that are of any use, though there are smaller and functionless teeth in the gums of the upper. The teeth of whales, by the way, are not differentiated like our canines and molars, but are all of one character. Although, in "toothless" whales, the foetal teeth disappear with the coming of the baleen, or whalebone, the latter must not, in either structure or uses, be thought to take their place. The plates of whalebone act rather as a hairy strainer. Unless we seek a possible analogy at the other end of the mammalian scale, in the Australian duckbill, the feeding of the whalebone-whales is unique. They gulp in the water, full ofplankton, swimming open-mouthed through the streaks of that substance. Then the huge jaws are closed, and the massive tongue is moved slowly, so as to drive the water from the angles of the mouth through the straining-plates of baleen, the food remaining stranded on these and on the tongue. The size and number of the baleen-plates appear to vary in a degree not yet definitely established; but there may, in a large whale, be as many as between 300 and 400 on either side of the cavernous mouth, and they may measure as much as 10 or 12 feet in length and 7 or 8 feet in width.
SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALE.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALE.One of the rarest of British whales, and very scarce elsewhere. It probably inhabits the open seas.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALE.One of the rarest of British whales, and very scarce elsewhere. It probably inhabits the open seas.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALE.
One of the rarest of British whales, and very scarce elsewhere. It probably inhabits the open seas.
An enumeration of such whales and porpoises and dolphins as have at one time or other been stranded on the shores of the British Isles may serve as an epitome of the whole order. Only one interesting group, in fact—the River-dolphins of the Ganges and Amazons—is unrepresented in the British list. Whales, either exhausted or dead, are periodically thrown up on our coasts, even on the less-exposed portions—one of the most recent examples in the writer's memory being that of a large specimen, over 60 feet long, stranded on the sands near Boscombe, in Hampshire, and the skeleton of which at present adorns Boscombe Pier. It was one of the rorquals, or finbacks, probably of the species called after Rudolphi; but the skeleton is imperfect, though its owner, Dr. Spencer Simpson, appears to have preserved some details of its earlier appearance. It should be remembered that many of the following can only be regarded as "British" with considerable latitude, the records of their visits being insome cases as rare as those of the rustic bunting and red-necked nightjar among birds, or of the derbio and spotted dragonet among fishes.
British zoologists, however, usually include the following:—Whalebone-whales: Southern Right-whale; Humpback; Finbacks, or Rorquals.Toothed Whales: Sperm-whale, or Cachalot; Narwhal; Beluga, or White Whale; Grampuses; Beaked Whale; Broad-fronted Whale; Cuvier's Whale; Sowerby's Whale; Pilot-whale; Porpoise; Dolphin; White-sided Dolphin; White-beaked Dolphin; Bottlenose.
A selection may therefore be made of five of the most representative of these species—theSouthern Whale, theCachalot, theNarwhal, thePorpoise, and theDolphin.
TheSouthern Whale, which, in common with the closely allied polar species, whaling-crews call "right," seeing that all other kinds are, from their point of view, "wrong," is probably the only right-whale which has ever found its way to our shores. Some writers include the Greenland Right-whale, but their authority for this is doubtful. It is said to grow to a length of at any rate 70 feet, though 55 feet would perhaps be more common for even large specimens. In colour it is said to be dark above, with a varying amount of white or grey on the flippers and under-surface. The head and mouth are very large, occupying in some cases one-third of the total length, and the baleen-plates measure as much as 8 or 10 feet in length and 5 or 6 feet in width. The species has no back-fin, but there is a protuberance on the snout, known technically as the "bonnet." This whale appears to give birth to its single calf some time in the spring months, and the mother shows great affection for her offspring. TheHumpbackis distinguished from the right-whales externally by its longer flippers and the prominence on its back, and internally by the fluted skin of the throat. TheFinners, orRorquals, have a distinct back-fin. They feed on fishes and cuttles, and I have more than once known a rorqual, which looked fully 50 feet long (comparing it roughly with my 24-foot boat), to swim slowly round and round my lugger, down on the Cornish coast, puffing and hissing like a torpedo-boat on its trial trip, rounding up the pilchards in a mass, and every now and then dashing through them open-mouthed with a terrific roar, after several of which helpings it would sink out of sight and not again put in an appearance.
COMMON PORPOISE.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.COMMON PORPOISE.From 4 to 5 feet long. It lives in "schools," or companies, and pursues the herrings and mackerel.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.COMMON PORPOISE.From 4 to 5 feet long. It lives in "schools," or companies, and pursues the herrings and mackerel.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
COMMON PORPOISE.
From 4 to 5 feet long. It lives in "schools," or companies, and pursues the herrings and mackerel.
TheSperm-whale, orCachalot, may serve as our type of the toothed whales. It attains to the same great dimensions as the largest of the whalebone group. A more activeanimal for its size could scarcely be conceived; and I have seen one, in the Indian Ocean, fling itself three or four times in succession out of water like a salmon, striking the surface each time as it fell back with a report like that of a gun. No one appears to have explained whether performances of this sort are due to mere playfulness, or, as seems more probable, to the attacks of parasites or such larger enemies as sharks or "killers." I have also seen four thresher-sharks leaping out of water, and falling with a loud blow on the whale's back; but the victim lay quite still in this case, and may in fact have been worn out before we came upon the scene. I wish to add that I took the word of the skipper, himself an old whaling-captain, for their identity as threshers. The dazzling sun shone full on them, and on the sea between, and it was impossible, even with the ship's telescope, to recognise them with any accuracy. The cachalot has a very different profile from what any one who had seen only its skull in a museum would be led to expect, for the sperm-cavity in the forehead is not indicated in the bones. The structure of the head enables the animal to drop the lower jaw almost at right angles to the upper; and Mr. Frank Bullen quotes, in his fascinating "Cruise of the Cachalot," the current belief that it does so to attract its prey by the whiteness of its teeth and palate. Although both fishes and cephalopods are very curious, even to their own destruction, it is doubtful whether the whale could not catch its food more rapidly by swimming open-mouthed through the acres of floating squid encountered all over the warmer waters of the ocean.
ELLIOTT'S DOLPHIN.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.ELLIOTT'S DOLPHIN.One of the commoner Indian species.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.ELLIOTT'S DOLPHIN.One of the commoner Indian species.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
ELLIOTT'S DOLPHIN.
One of the commoner Indian species.
RISSO'S DOLPHIN.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.RISSO'S DOLPHIN.About 13 feet in length, found in almost all oceans.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.RISSO'S DOLPHIN.About 13 feet in length, found in almost all oceans.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
RISSO'S DOLPHIN.
About 13 feet in length, found in almost all oceans.
TheNarwhal, an arctic type, may be distinguished from all other cetaceans by the single spiral tusk in the left side of the head of the male. Sometimes the right tusk grows as well, and either may attain a length of as much as 8 feet; but in the female both teeth remain undeveloped.
TheCommon Porpoiseof our own seas, distinguished by its rounded head from the equally common beaked dolphin, is too familiar to need much description. It grows to a length of 5 or 6 feet, and is dark in colour on the back and white beneath. Its conspicuous back-fin is always recognisable when it gambols with a herd of its fellows; and a line of these sea-pigs, a mile or so in length, is no uncommon sight, their presence inshore being indicative on some parts of the coast of the coming of east wind. The porpoise, which has,like many of its group, teeth in either jaw, is a voracious feeder, preying in estuaries on salmon and flounders, and on more open parts of the coast on pilchards and mackerel. It is occasionally a serious nuisance in the Mediterranean sardine-fisheries, and I have known of the fishermen of Collioure, in the Gulf of Lyons, appealing to the French Government to send a gunboat from Toulon that might steam after the marauders and frighten them away. One of the most remarkable cases of a feeding porpoise that I can recall was that of one which played with a conger-eel in a Cornish harbour as a cat might play with a mouse, blowing the fish 20 or 30 feet through the air, and swimming after it so rapidly as to catch it again almost as it touched the water.
BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.From 8 to 9 feet long, found from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.From 8 to 9 feet long, found from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.
From 8 to 9 feet long, found from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.
TheDolphin, which is in some seasons as common in the British Channel as the more familiar porpoise, is distinguished by its small head and long beak, the lower jaw always carrying more teeth than the upper. It feeds on pilchards and mackerel, and, like the porpoises, gambols, particularly after an east wind, with its fellows close inshore. There are many other marine mammals somewhat loosely bracketed as dolphins.Risso's Dolphin, for instance, a rare visitor to our coasts, has a striped skin, and its jaws are without teeth, which distinguish it from the common dolphin and most of the others. It cannot therefore feed on fishes, and most probably eats squid and cuttle-fish. TheBottle-nosed Dolphin, a species occurring in the greatest numbers on the Atlantic coast of North America, is regularly hunted for its oil.Heavyside's Dolphin, which hails from South African waters, is a smaller kind, chiefly remarkable for the curious distribution of black and white on its back and sides.
HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN.A small, peculiarly coloured species from the Cape.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN.A small, peculiarly coloured species from the Cape.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN.
A small, peculiarly coloured species from the Cape.
A word must, in conclusion, be said on the economic value of the whales. Fortunately, as they are getting rarer, substitutes for their once invaluable products are being from time to time discovered, and much of the regret at their extermination by wasteful slaughter is sentimental and not economic. For whalebone it is not probable that a perfect substitute will ever be found. It therefore maintains a high price, though the former highest market value of over £2,000 per ton has fallen to something nearer the half. The sperm-oil from the sperm-whale, and the train-oil from that of the right-whales, the spermaceti out of the cachalot's forehead and the ambergris secreted in its stomach, are the other valuable products. Ambergris is a greyish, fatty secretion, caused by the irritation set up in the whale's inside by the undigested beaks of cuttle-fish. Its market price is about £5 per ounce. A lump of 240 lbs. sold for nearly £20,000.
THE SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS, AND ARMADILLOS.
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
The very remarkable assemblage of animals we are now about to consider includes many diverse forms, bracketed together to constitute one great group; and this on account of the peculiarities of the structure and distribution of the teeth, which are never present in the front of the jaw, and may be absent altogether. Of the five groups recognised, three occur in the New and two in the Old World. All have undergone very considerable modification of form and structure, and in every case this modification has tended to render them more perfectly adapted to an arboreal or terrestrial existence. Flying or aquatic types are wanting. Whilst one great group—the Sloths—is entirely vegetarian, the others feed either on flesh or insects.
The Sloths.
NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA).Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA).This is also known as Hoffmann's Sloth. The appellation "two-toed" refers to the fore limb only. The hind foot has three toes.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA).This is also known as Hoffmann's Sloth. The appellation "two-toed" refers to the fore limb only. The hind foot has three toes.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA).
This is also known as Hoffmann's Sloth. The appellation "two-toed" refers to the fore limb only. The hind foot has three toes.
In the matter of personal appearance Nature has not been kind to theSloth, though it is certainly true that there are many uglier animals—not including those, such as some of the Monkey Tribe and certain of the Swine, which are positively hideous. The mode of life of the sloth is certainly remarkable, for almost its whole existence is passed among the highest trees of the densest South American forests, and passed, too, ina perfectly topsy-turvy manner, inasmuch as it moves from bough to bough with its legs up in the air and its back towards the ground. It walks and sleeps suspended beneath the boughs instead of balanced above them, securely holding itself by means of powerful hooked claws on the fore and hind feet. This method of locomotion, so remarkable in a mammal, coupled with the deliberate fashion in which it moves, and the air of sadness expressed in its quaint physiognomy—large-eyed, snub-nosed, and earless—on which there seems to dwell an ever-present air of resignation, led the great Buffon to believe that the sloth was a creature afflicted of God for some hidden reason man could not fathom! His sympathy was as certainly wasted as his hasty conclusion was unjustified. There can be no doubt but that the life led by the sloth is at least as blissful as that of its more lively neighbours—the spider monkeys, for instance. Walking beneath the boughs comes as natural to the sloth as walking on the ceiling to the fly.
The sloth sleeps, as we have already remarked, suspended from a bough. During this time the feet are drawn close together, and the head raised up and placed between the fore legs, as in the cobego, which we depicted asleep onpage 170, as our readers will remember. In the sleeping position the sloth bears a striking resemblance to the stump of a lichen-covered bough, just as the cobego resembles a fruit. Thus is protection from enemies gained. The resemblance to lichen is further aided by the fact that the long, coarse hair with which the sloth is clothed becomes encrusted with a peculiar green alga—a lowly form of vegetable growth—which lodges in certain grooves or flutings peculiar to the hair of this animal. Such a method of protection is unique amongst the Mammalia. As the sloths sleep by day and feed by night, the usefulness of such a method of concealment is beyond question.
THREE-TOED SLOTH.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.THREE-TOED SLOTH.A remarkable peculiarity about the three-toed sloths is the fact that they have no less than nine vertebræ in the neck, instead of seven, as is usual among mammals.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.THREE-TOED SLOTH.A remarkable peculiarity about the three-toed sloths is the fact that they have no less than nine vertebræ in the neck, instead of seven, as is usual among mammals.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
THREE-TOED SLOTH.
A remarkable peculiarity about the three-toed sloths is the fact that they have no less than nine vertebræ in the neck, instead of seven, as is usual among mammals.
The strange form of locomotion of the sloths renders separate fingers and toes unnecessary, and so the fingers and toes have come to be enclosed in a common fold of skin, extending down to the base of the claws.
The sloths stand out in strong contrast to the volatile spider monkeys, with whom they share the forest; these have added a fifth limb in the shape of a prehensile tail, by which they may suspend themselves at will. The sloths, on the contrary, have no tail; they move deliberately, and do not require it. The monkeys move by prodigious leaps, taken not seldom by gathering impetus by swinging on their tails.
The great naturalist Bates writes of the sloth: "It is a strange sight to watch this uncouth creature, fit production of these silent shades, lazily moving from branch to branch. Every movement betrays, not indolence exactly, but extreme caution. He never loses his hold from one branch without first securing himself to the next.... After watching the animal for about half an hour, I gave him a charge of shot; he fell with a terrific crash, but caught a bough in his descent with his powerful claws, and remained suspended. Our Indian ladtried to climb the tree, but was driven back by swarms of stinging ants; the poor little fellow slid down in a sad predicament, and plunged headlong into the brook to free himself."
On another occasion the same writer tells us he "saw a sloth swimming across a river at a place where it was 300 yards broad. I believe it is not generally known that this animal takes to the water. Our men caught the beast, cooked and ate him."
In past ages gigantic ground-sloths roamed over South America. The largest of these, the Megatherium, rivalled the elephant in size. Descendants of these giants appear to have lingered on till comparatively recent times, as witness the wonderful discovery by Moreno, made during last year (1900) in a cave in Patagonia. This was nothing less than a skull and a large piece of the hide of one of these monsters in a wonderful state of preservation, showing indeed undoubted traces of blood and sinew. That the hide was removed by human hands there can be no doubt, for it wasrolled upand turned inside-out. Immediately after this discovery was announced, an expedition was dispatched from England to hunt, not so much for more remains, but for the animal itself. Time will show whether these efforts will prove successful.
The Ant-eaters.
Unlike as the ant-eaters are to the sloths, they are nevertheless very closely related thereto. This unlikeness at the present day is so great that, were it not for "missing-links" in the shape of fossils, we should probably never have discovered the relationship. The head of the typical ant-eaters has been drawn out into a long tubular muzzle, at the end of which is a tiny mouth just big enough to permit the exit of a long worm-like tongue, covered with a sticky saliva. This tongue is thrust out with great rapidity amongst the hosts of ants and termites and their larvæ, on which they prey. These victims are captured by breaking open their nests. At once all the active inhabitants swarm up to the breach, and are instantaneously swept away by the remorseless tongue. The jaws of the ant-eaters are entirely toothless, and the eyes and ears are very small.
The largest species of ant-eater is about 4 feet long. It lives entirely upon the ground. Generally speaking, it is a harmless creature; but at times, when cornered, it will fight furiously, sitting up on its hind legs and hugging its foe in its powerful arms. Bates, the traveller-naturalist, relates an instance in which a dog used in hunting theGreat Ant-eaterwas caught in its grip and killed. The tail of this large species is covered with very long hair, forming an immense brush. The claw on the third toe of each fore limb is of great size, and used for breaking open ants' and other insects' nests.
THE GREAT ANT-EATER.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.THE GREAT ANT-EATER.In walking the ant-eater turns its toes inwards, so that the claws turn upwards and inwards, the weight of the body being borne by a horny pad on the fifth toe, and the balls of the third and fourth toes.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.THE GREAT ANT-EATER.In walking the ant-eater turns its toes inwards, so that the claws turn upwards and inwards, the weight of the body being borne by a horny pad on the fifth toe, and the balls of the third and fourth toes.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
THE GREAT ANT-EATER.
In walking the ant-eater turns its toes inwards, so that the claws turn upwards and inwards, the weight of the body being borne by a horny pad on the fifth toe, and the balls of the third and fourth toes.
But besides the great ground ant-eater there are some tree-haunting species. These have a shorter muzzle, and short hair on the tail, which is used, as with the spider monkeys, as afifth limb. Curled round the bough of a tree, its owner is free to swing himself out on to another branch.
TAMANDUA ANT-EATER.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TAMANDUA ANT-EATER.This species, which is a smaller animal than the Great Ant-eater, lives almost entirely in the trees, instead of on the ground.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TAMANDUA ANT-EATER.This species, which is a smaller animal than the Great Ant-eater, lives almost entirely in the trees, instead of on the ground.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
TAMANDUA ANT-EATER.
This species, which is a smaller animal than the Great Ant-eater, lives almost entirely in the trees, instead of on the ground.
The smallest of the tree-dwelling species is not larger than a rat, and is a native of the hottest parts of the forests of South and Central America. The muzzle in this species is quite short, not long and tubular, as in the larger species. It is a very rare animal, or is at least very seldom seen, a fact perhaps due to its small size. It is known as theTwo-toed Ant-eater, only the second and third fingers of the fore feet bearing claws.
Von Sack, in his "Narrative of a Voyage to Surinam," tells us that the natives of Surinam call this little animal "Kissing-hand"—"as the inhabitants pretend that it will never eat, at least when caught, but that it only licks its paws, in the same manner as the bear; that all trials to make it eat have proved in vain, and that it soon dies in confinement. When I got the first, I sent to the forest for a nest of ants; and during the interim I put into its cage some eggs, honey, milk, and meat; but it refused to touch any of them. At last the ants' nest arrived, but the animal did not pay the slightest attention to it either. By the shape of its fore paws, which resemble nippers, I thought that this little creature might perhaps live on the nymphæ of wasps, etc. I therefore brought it a wasps' nest, and then it pulled out with its nippers the nymphæ from the nest, and began to eat them with the greatest eagerness, sitting in the posture of a squirrel. I showed this phenomenon to many of the inhabitants, who all assured me that it was the first time they had ever known that species of animal take any nourishment."
The Armadillos.
Readers of this book will doubtless have noticed long ere this how manifold are the devices for the purpose of defence adopted by the Mammalia. TheArmadilloshave certainly selected the most complete, having encased themselves in an impenetrable bony armour as perfect as the coat of mail of the warrior of the Middle Ages. Concerning this and the variations thereon adopted by the different members of the group we shall speak presently.
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.
The bony armour is disposed over the crown of the head, back, and flanks. It is made up of numerous small, bony plates, buried deep in the skin, and each overlaid by a horny scale. The tail is protected by bony rings. The plates covering the shoulders and those directly over the hindquarters fuse into a solid mass, thus forming chambers into which the limbs can be withdrawn. In the region of the body, between these two shields, the plates are arranged in rows encircling the body, thus permitting the animal to roll itself up as occasion may require. Hairs grow out between the plates, and in some cases give the animal quite a furry appearance.
TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.Although the fore feet have four toes, only the second and third bear claws; hence the name "Two-toed" Ant-eater.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.Although the fore feet have four toes, only the second and third bear claws; hence the name "Two-toed" Ant-eater.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.
Although the fore feet have four toes, only the second and third bear claws; hence the name "Two-toed" Ant-eater.
Speaking of the burrowing powers of the armadillo, Darwin, in his most fascinating "Voyage of the Beagle," tells us that "the instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly that its hinder quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. It seems almost a pity to kill such nice little animals; for as a Gaucho said, while sharpening his knife on the back of one, 'Son tan mansos' (They are so quiet)." As a rule, armadillos are regarded as animals loving dry, sandy wastes; nevertheless, they are said to be able to swim both well and swiftly. The flesh of the armadillo is apparently by no means unpalatable.
The Pichiciago.
One of the most remarkable of the armadillos is thePichiciago, orFairy Armadillo. It is a tiny creature of some 5 inches long, found in the sandy wastes of the western part of the Argentine Republic. The horny covering of the bony plates is pinkish colour, and the hair is silky in texture and snow-white. But it is not on this account that the fairy armadillo is remarkable: its claim to notoriety rests on the peculiar arrangement of the bony plates constituting the armour. These bony plates are small and thin, and covered, as in other species, with a horny coat; but instead of being embedded in the skin, they are attached only along the middle of the back, and project freely over the body on either side, leaving a space between the shield and the body. The hinder end of the body is specially protected by a nearly circular vertical shield, firmly fixed to the hip-girdle. This shield, it is said, is used as a plug to fill up its burrow with.
The Peludo.
Armadillos of the normal type, wherein the body armour is embedded in the skin, are represented by numerous species. Of one, known as thePeludo, Mr. Hudson has given us some interesting details. "It feeds," he tells us, "not only upon insects, but also upon vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, and carrion. Its method of capturing mice was certainly ingenious. It hunted by smell, and when nearing its prey became greatly agitated. The exact spot discovered, the body was raised slowly to a sitting posture, and then flung suddenly forwards, so that the mouse or nest of mice was imprisoned beneath, and promptly dispatched." "Still more remarkable," says Mr. Lydekker, "is the manner in which a peludo has been observed to kill a snake, by rushing upon it and proceeding to saw the unfortunate reptile in pieces by pressing upon it closely with the jagged edges of its armour, and at the same time moving its body backwards and forwards. The struggles of the snake were all in vain, as its fangs could make no impression upon the panoply of its assailant, and eventually the reptile slowly dropped and died, to be soon afterwards devoured by the armadillo, which commenced the meal by seizing the snake's tail in its mouth, and gradually eating forwards."
WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO.The weasel-headed armadillos have from six to eight movable bands in the bony armour in which they are encased.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO.The weasel-headed armadillos have from six to eight movable bands in the bony armour in which they are encased.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO.
The weasel-headed armadillos have from six to eight movable bands in the bony armour in which they are encased.
HAIRY-RUMPED ARMADILLO.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.HAIRY-RUMPED ARMADILLO.This species, like the Peba Armadillo, varies its diet with carrion.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.HAIRY-RUMPED ARMADILLO.This species, like the Peba Armadillo, varies its diet with carrion.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
HAIRY-RUMPED ARMADILLO.
This species, like the Peba Armadillo, varies its diet with carrion.
The Pangolins.
ThePangolins, orScaly Ant-eaters, are perhaps even more curious creatures than the armadillos. They have been likened in appearance to animated spruce fir-cones, to which indeed they bear a strange resemblance. This resemblance is due to the wonderful armature of the skin, which takes the form of large overlapping, pointed, horny plates or scales. The pangolins are confined to the Old World, occurring in South Africa and South-eastern Asia. Like the American Ant-eaters, teeth are wanting, and the tongue is long and worm-like, being employed in the capture of insects, as in the New World ant-eaters.
The scales of theManisare formed by the fusion together of fine hairs. Like the spines of the hedgehog and porcupine, they serve the purpose of offensive defence; for when the manis rolls itself up, these pointed scales project at right angles to the body, and offer a formidable resistance to any enemy whatsoever. They also serve to break the force of a fall, which, indeed, is often voluntary; for should the animal wish to descend from the branch of a tree, it will often take a short cut to the ground by deliberately dropping, the force of the fall being entirely broken by the elastic scales.
In climbing, the tail is of the greatest service, its under-surface being clothed with pointed scales, which serve as so many climbing-hooks. The grasp of a tree-trunk gained by the hind legs and tail is so secure that the body can be moved to a horizontal position with ease. In a specimen kept in captivity by Mr. Fraser, this horizontal movement was a form of exercise which appeared to afford the greatest pleasure.
PEBA ARMADILLO.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.PEBA ARMADILLO.This species lives largely upon carrion, which it buries in its burrow till wanted.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.PEBA ARMADILLO.This species lives largely upon carrion, which it buries in its burrow till wanted.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
PEBA ARMADILLO.
This species lives largely upon carrion, which it buries in its burrow till wanted.
KAPPLERS' ARMADILLO.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.KAPPLERS' ARMADILLO.This is a variety of the Peba Armadillo, inhabiting Surinam.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.KAPPLERS' ARMADILLO.This is a variety of the Peba Armadillo, inhabiting Surinam.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
KAPPLERS' ARMADILLO.
This is a variety of the Peba Armadillo, inhabiting Surinam.
The Aard-vark.
The custom of naming newly discovered animals after well-known forms to which they are supposed to bear some resemblance, physically or otherwise, is a common one. The animal now under consideration shows this once more, having originally received the name ofAard-vark(Earth-pig) from the Boers of the Cape. The aard-vark is a most decidedly ugly animal, and justifies its name in several particulars. It is hunted for the sake of its hide, which is of great thickness and resembles that of the pig, but is sparsely covered with hairs, the general shape of its body being not unlike that of a long-headed, short-legged, heavy-tailed pig. The whole animal is about 6 feet long. In a wild state, or even in captivity, it is but rarely seen, since it is a night-feeder, and passes the day in sleep deep down in a burrow. This burrow it digs for itself with the aid of powerful claws borne on the fore feet. It lives principally on ants and termites, breaking down their nests, and remorselessly sweeping up the frightened occupants with a long, sticky tongue, as soon as they rush to the seat of the disturbance which has broken up the harmony and order of their community. At one time it was believed that the aard-vark was a close ally of the pangolin, but later researches have disproved this, and have furthermore thrown doubt upon the probability of its relationship with any of the members of this group of mammals at all.
There are two species of this animal—theCape Aard-varkof South and South-east Africa, and theEthiopian Aard-varkof North-east Africa.
CAPE AARD-VARK.By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.CAPE AARD-VARK.The ants upon which the aard-vark largely subsists appear to be very fattening, and impart a delicate flavour to the flesh, especially to the hams, which are greatly esteemed.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.CAPE AARD-VARK.The ants upon which the aard-vark largely subsists appear to be very fattening, and impart a delicate flavour to the flesh, especially to the hams, which are greatly esteemed.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.
CAPE AARD-VARK.
The ants upon which the aard-vark largely subsists appear to be very fattening, and impart a delicate flavour to the flesh, especially to the hams, which are greatly esteemed.
Where the nest-building ants are most common, there will the aard-vark—or Innagus, as the Boers sometimes call it—be most plentiful. The nests of these ants are huge structures of from 3 to 7 feet high, and often occupy vast areas of ground, extending as far as the eye can reach. They are substantially built, and swarm with occupants, and consequently are quite worth raiding. But the aard-vark has become much less common since a price has been set upon its skin. The powers of digging of these animals are so great that they can completely bury their large bodies in a few minutes, even when the ground has been baked by the sun into something like adamantine hardness. In excavating their burrows, the ground is thrown out by the fore feet, in huge lumps, through or rather between the hind legs. Shy and suspicious, the least unusual sound will send them scuttling to earth, for their sense of hearing is very keen. They seem to change their minds somewhat frequently, when engaged in digging out a new burrow; for half-excavated burrows in the side of ant-hills are very commonly met with. A fully grown aard-vark is about 6 feet long—generally rather more. Although this animal is frequently kept in captivity, it is but rarely seen by visitors, owing to its nocturnal habits, of which we have already spoken.
The teeth of the aard-vark are sufficiently remarkable to justify notice here. Only the crushing teeth are represented—that is to say, the front or cutting teeth are conspicuous by their absence. These crushing teeth number from eight to ten in the upper and eight in the lower jaw, on each side; but in the adult fewer would be found, the number being reduced to five in each side of the jaws—that is to say, there are but twenty all told. In structure these teeth are quite remarkable, differing entirely from those of all other mammals, and resembling those of some fishes; furthermore, they have no "roots," but instead grow continually throughout life, which "rooted" teeth do not.
THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.Photo by Billington][Queensland.THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.The massive hind limbs and tail of the animal constitute, in its characteristic resting pose, a most efficient supporting tripod.
Photo by Billington][Queensland.THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.The massive hind limbs and tail of the animal constitute, in its characteristic resting pose, a most efficient supporting tripod.
Photo by Billington][Queensland.
THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.
The massive hind limbs and tail of the animal constitute, in its characteristic resting pose, a most efficient supporting tripod.
MARSUPIALS AND MONOTREMES.
BY W. SAVILLE-KENT, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
MARSUPIALS.
With the order of the Pouched Mammals we arrive—with the exception of the Echidna and Platypus, next described—at the most simply organised representatives of the Mammalian Class. In the two forms above named, egg-production, after the manner of birds and reptiles, constitutes the only method of propagation. Although among marsupials so rudimentary a method of reproduction is not met with, the young are brought into the world in a far more embryonic condition than occurs among any of the mammalian groups previously enumerated. There is, as a matter of fact, an entire absence of that vascular or blood connection betwixt the parent and young previous to birth, known as placentation, common to all the higher mammals, though certain of the more generalised forms have been recently found to possess a rudiment of such development. In correlation with their abnormally premature birth, it may be observed that a special provision commonly exists for the early nurture of the infant marsupials. In such a form as the Kangaroo, for example, the young one is placed, through the instrumentality of its parent's lips, in contact with the food-supplying teat, and to which for some considerable period it then becomes inseparably attached. Special muscles exist in connection with the parent's mammary glands for controlling the supply of milk to the young animal, while the respiratory organs of the little creature are temporarily modified in order to ensure unimpeded respiration. The fact of the young in their early life being commonly found thus inseparably adhering to the parent's nipple has given rise to the falacious but still very widely prevalent idea among the Australian settlers that the embryo marsupial is ushered into the world as a direct outgrowth from the mammary region.