Chapter VI: Part 6

Fabius Calumna has given the description and figure of an armadillo contracted into a ball, which seems to have had four moveable bands, but as this author was absolutely unacquainted with the animal, whose skin or shell he has described, as he did not even know the name of the armadillo, though mentioned by Bellon fifty years before, but gave him a Greek name, (_cheloniscus_); besides, as he confesses, that the skin had been pasted together, and wanted several pieces, we do not see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as our modern nomenclators have done, that a species of armadillo, with four moveable bands, exists in Nature; and more especially since these imperfect indications given in 1606, by Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in the works of any naturalists; and, if he really did exist, he certainly would have been introduced into some cabinets, or have been observed by some travellers.

THE SIX BANDED.

This species (_fig._ 127) is larger than the former; he has the upper part of the head, neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very hard crust, composed of several large pieces, elegantly disposed. He has a buckler on each shoulder, and another on the rump, each of which are in one piece; only there is beyond the buckler on the shoulders, and near the head a moveable band, which enables the animal to bend its neck. The buckler on the shoulders is formed by five parallel rows, composed of pieces which represent five angles, with an oval in each; the cuirass on the back, that is the part betwixt the two bucklers, is divided into six bands, which are united together and to the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and thick skin. These bands are composed of large square pieces; from the skin of these joints some white hairs issue out, like those on the breast and belly; all these inferior parts are covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a crustaceous substance like the upper. The buckler on the rump has a border, the mosaic work of which is similar to that of the moveable bands, and the rest consists of pieces like those of the bucklers of the shoulders. The crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of one piece, extending to the moveable band on the neck. He has a sharp muzzle, small and hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the ears are without hair, naked, short, and brown, like the skin of the joints; he has eighteen teeth in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in a round form, and rather narrow; the head and the snout are like those of a pig, the tail is thick at its origin, diminishing gradually towards the extremity, where it is very slender and round. The colour of the body is a reddish yellow; the animal is commonly thick and fat, and the male has the sexual organ very visible; he digs into the ground with great facility with his snout and claws; he dwells in the day-time underground, and only goes out towards the evening to seek for food; he drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects, and birds, when he can catch them.

THE EIGHT BANDED.

This is not so large as the last, he has a small head, a sharp snout, the ears erect, and rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs rather short. He has small black eyes, four toes on the fore-feet, and five on those behind; the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders and rump with shields, and the body with a cuirass composed of eight moveable bands connected together, and with the bucklers, by nine joints of a flexible skin; the tail has also a similar number of bands. The colour of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on the flanks and tail of a light grey with spots of iron grey. The belly is covered with a whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual of this species, described by Marcgrave, had a head three inches long, the ears near two, the legs about three, the two middle toes of the fore-feet an inch; the body from the neck to the origin of the tail seven inches, and the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers had small white spots; the moveable bands were marked by triangular figures; this crust was not hard, being penetrable to the smallest shot which would kill the animal, whose flesh is very white, and good to eat.

THE NINE BANDED.

Nieremberg has described this animal very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew have described him much better. The individual which Wormius mentioned was adult, and one of the largest of the species; that of Grew was younger and smaller. We shall only give their descriptions as far as they agree with our own specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that this nine-striped armadillo is not really a distinct species from the eight, which he resembles in every other respect. We have two eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and seem to be both males; we have seven or eight with nine bands, one well preserved, which is a female, and the others are so dried up that we could not discern the sex. It is probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is the male and the nine-banded the female. But this is merely a conjecture for we shall give in the following article the description of two armadillos, one of which has more rows than the other upon the buckler on the rump, and yet they are so alike in every other respect, that one should be inclined to think this difference arises only from that of the sex, for it is not improbable, that greater numbers of these moveable bands may be necessary to facilitate the gestation and delivery of the female. The head of the armadillo, the skin of which Wormius has described, was five inches from the end of the snout to the ears, and eighteen inches from the ears to the tail, which last was a foot in length, and composed of twelve rings. The head of that described by Grew was three inches, the body seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions of the head and body agree, but the difference of the tail is too great; and it is probable that the tail of that described by Wormius had been broken, for it should have exceeded a foot in length. As in this species the tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at the same time, very brittle; few of the skins therefore have the whole tail preserved as that described by Grew.

THE TWELVE BANDED.

This seems to be the largest of the species. He has a larger and broader head, and a snout not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a particularity which is alone sufficient to distinguish this species from all others. He has five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable bands. The buckler on the shoulders is formed of five or six rows, each composed of large quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands are also formed of large pieces, almost square; those which compose the buckler on the rump are like those on the shoulder. The helmet of the head consists of large irregular pieces. Between the joints of the moveable bands and in the other parts of the armour, there appear some hairs like the bristles of a hog; there are also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished like the crust, and between which are small tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass, being proportionally larger and less in number in this than in other armadillos, evidently prove he is the largest of the kind. The head of that from which we took this description was seven inches long, and the body twenty-one.

THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.

Mr. Grew first described this animal from a skin preserved in the cabinet of the Royal Society in London. All the other armadillos have two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and the other on the rump, but this has but one, which is upon his shoulders. He is called the weasel armadillo, because his head is nearly of the same form as a weasel. From the description of this animal given by Grew, it appears, that his body is about ten inches in length, his head three, and his tail five; the legs two or three inches in height; the forehead large and flat, small eyes, and the ears an inch long, he has five toes on each foot, the three in the middle being the largest. The armour of the head and legs is composed of round scales, about a quarter of an inch diameter, that on the neck consisted of one piece, as did the buckler on the shoulders composed of several rows of scales like those of the armour; these rows on the buckler, in this species, as in all others are continuous, and join by a symphysis. The rest of the body, from the buckler on the shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable bands, parted from each other by a supple membrane: these bands are eighteen in number; those nearest the shoulders are the largest, and are composed of small squares. The posterior are intermixed with round and square pieces, and the extremity of the armour near the tail is of a parabolic figure. The first half of the tail is encircled with six rings, composed of small square pieces, and the lower part is covered with irregular scales. The breast, belly, and ears, are naked, as in the other species. It should seem that, of all armadillos, this has the most facility to contract and roll himself up in a ball, by his moveable bands which extend to the tail.

Linnæus who must have seen the descriptions of Grew and Ray, who both agree with that we have given, has indicated this animal with one band only, instead of eighteen: founded on an evident mistake, by having taken the _tatu seu armadillo Africanus_ of Seba for the _tatu mustelinas_ of Grew, which even according to the descriptions of these two authors, are very different from each other. It is doubtful whether the tatou of Seba exists, at least as he has described him, but the animal given in Grew's description is a real existing species.

All the armadillos come originally from America; they were unknown before the discovery of the New World. The ancients never mentioned them, and modern travellers all agree, that these animals are natives of Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &c. and no one pretends to have seen this species in Asia or Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the scaly lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos of America. Others thought they existed on the western coasts of Africa, because they have sometimes been transported from Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote above two centuries ago, and is one of the first who has given a short description, with the figure of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen in Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent. Oviedo, De Lery, Gomara, Thevet, Ant, Herrera, Father d'Abbeville, François, Ximenes, Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta, De Laët, and all the more recent authors mention these animals as natives of the southern countries of America. Piso is the only one who has pretended, without any authority, that the armadillos were found in the East Indies, as well as in America; and it is probable, that he has confounded the scaly lizards with the armadillos, especially as they have been so called by the Spaniards; this error has been adopted by nomenclators, and those who have given descriptions of cabinets; who have not only admitted the existence of armadillos in the East Indies, but even in Africa, though none were ever in those two parts of the world, except such as have been transported from America.

The climate of these animals is not therefore, equivocal; but it is more difficult to determine the relative bulk of each species. For this purpose we have compared great numbers which are preserved in the king's cabinet and those of others. We have also compared the descriptions of all authors with those of our own, without being able to ascertain the fact. It appears that the twelve and six banded are the largest, and that the three, eight, nine, and eighteen banded are the smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous substance is harder and more solid; the pieces which compose it are larger, and in a smaller number; the moveable bands encroach, less one upon the other; the flesh, as well as the skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso says, that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable; and Nieremberg affirms, that it is unwholesome and pernicious. Barrere says, that the twelve banded has a strong smell of musk; and all authors agree in praising the flesh of the three banded, and particularly that of the eight, which is as white, and equally good as the flesh of a pig. They say also, that the small species dwell in marshy and low grounds, and that those of the large species are found on dry and high lands only.

These animals can all contract their bodies into a round form, with more or less facility. When they are contracted the defects of their armour is most visible in those who have it composed of the smallest number of pieces; the three banded then shews two large voids betwixt the bucklers and the armour on the back. None of them can roll themselves up in a ball so exact as that formed by the hedge-hog; when so contracted they represent the figure of a globe flattened at the two ends.

This singular crust, which covers them, is a bone composed of small contiguous pieces, and being neither moveable nor jointed, except at the partitions of the bands, are united by a symphysis, and may all be separated from each other if put on the fire. When the animal is alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers and the moveable bands yield to his motions, especially when he contracts himself, otherwise he could not possibly roll himself up. These pieces in different species are of different figures always as regularly disposed as an elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle which covers the crust is a transparent skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the whole body; this skin, when taken off, changes the relievo of this natural mosaic, and gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous covering is only a surface independent of the interior parts of the animal's body, his bones, and other organs, being composed like those of other quadrupeds.

The armadillos, in general, are innocent, harmless animals, unless they can penetrate into gardens, where they will eat the melons, potatoes, pulse, and roots. Though they originally belong to the hot climates of America, they live in temperate regions. I once saw one in Languedoc, which was fed in the house, and went about every where without doing any mischief. They walk quickly, but they can neither leap, run, nor climb up trees, so that they cannot escape those who pursue them; they have no resource but to hide themselves in their holes, or if at too great a distance from their habitations, to endeavour to dig one before they are overtaken, for which they want but a few instants, the mole itself not being more expert in digging the ground. Sometimes before they can get quite concealed they are caught by the tail, and when they make such a strong resistance that the tail is often broke without bringing out the body; in order to take them without mutilation the burrow must be opened, when they are taken without any resistance; when caught they roll themselves up into a ball, and will not extend again unless they are placed near the fire. Hard as their coat of mail is, the animal, on being lightly touched with the finger, receives so quick an impression that he contracts instantaneously. When in deep burrows they are forced out by smoking them, or letting water run down the holes. It is said that they remain under ground above three months in the year; be that as it may, it is certain that they never come out of their holes but in the night, when they seek for food. The armadillo is hunted with small dogs, by whom he is soon overtaken; but before they have reached him he contracts himself, in which condition he is seized, and carried off. If near the brink of a precipice, he escapes both dogs and hunters, for contracting he rolls himself down like a ball, without hurt or prejudice to his coat of mail.

These animals are fat, and very prolific: the male has exterior signs of great generative faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said, every four months, of course their species are very numerous. As they are good to eat they are hunted in different manners; they are easily taken with snares laid for them on the banks of rivers, and in marshy grounds, which they inhabit by preference. They never go to any great distance from their burrows, which are very deep, and which they endeavour to reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended they are not afraid of the bite of the rattle snake, though it is as dangerous as that of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live in peace with these reptiles, which are often found in their holes. The savages make different uses of their crusts; they paint them with divers colours, and make baskets, boxes, and other small vessels, of them. Monard, Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed great medicinal properties to different parts of these animals; they assure us that the crustaceous covering, reduced into powder, and taken inwardly, even in a small quantity, is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of the hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease; that the first bone of the tail, applied to the ear, cures deafness, &c. We give no credit to these extraordinary properties; the crust and bones of the armadillos being of the same nature as the bones of other animals. Such marvellous effects are never produced but by imaginary virtues.

SUPPLEMENT.

I received the drawing of a six-banded armadillo, taken from life, from M. de Séve, and with it a description; in which, after stating that it corresponds pretty much with that we have given, observes, that the rows on the bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and number: this animal was fourteen inches long, independent of the tail, which he supposed to be about six inches, as part of it was broken off; his head was rather more than three inches long, and his ears a little above one; on the broadest part of the body the crust measured six inches seven lines; the fore legs were two inches long, and his hind ones three.

M. de la Borde says, there are two species of Armadillos at Guiana, the largest black and the other a greyish brown; the former are so prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or ten at a litter: they reside in very deep holes, and when any attempts are made to take them by digging, they penetrate further in the earth, and almost perpendicularly; they only quit their holes in the night, and then for the purpose of seeking for food, which commonly consists of worms, ants, and wood-lice; their flesh is of an excellent flavour, and resembles that of a pig. The small one has not more than four or five young at a time, and they are more hard to be taken; these sometimes come out of their holes in the day, but never when it rains. The hunters know when they are in their holes by the number of flies which hover round: and when they begin to dig the animal digs also, and by throwing the earth behind, so effectually closes up the holes that smoke cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first of these animals to be that we have mentioned, as the twelve-banded, and the other the eight-banded armadillos.

Dr. W. Watson has given a description of an armadillo with nine bands, and a long tail, (_fig. 128._) in the Philosophical Transactions, where he says, This animal was brought from America, and kept alive in the house of Lord Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and was not bigger than a common-sized cat; while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk, but would not eat grain or fruits. Those by whom it was brought from America asserted, that it dug a hole for itself in the earth in which it lived.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._

THE PACA.

The paca (_fig. 129._) is an animal of the new world, which digs itself a borough like a rabbit, to whom he has often been compared, though there is scarce any likeness between them; he is much larger than the rabbit, or even the hare; his body is bigger and more compact; he has a round head and short snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like a pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner of eating, for he does not use, like the rabbit, his fore feet to carry food to his mouth, but grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence. They inhabit the banks of rivers, and are found only in the damp and warm places of South America: their flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat; their skin is eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a perpetual war is carried on against these animals. Hunters find it very difficult to take them alive; and when they are surprised in their burrows, which have two openings, they defend themselves, and bite with great rage and inveteracy. Their skins, though covered with short and rough hair, make a fine fur because it is regularly spotted on the sides. These animals bring forth very often, and in abundance: men, and animals of prey, destroy great numbers of them, and yet the species remains undiminished in numbers; he is peculiar to South America, and is found no where in the old continent.

SUPPLEMENT.

Our former description of the Paca was taken from a young one which had not nearly come to its full growth. Since then I have had one sent me, which was much bigger even when he arrived, and continued to grow while I kept him, namely from August 1774, to May 28, 1775. From the Sieur Trécourt I received an account of his natural habits, in which that gentleman says: "This animal remains perfectly quiet in the day, if he is provided with a wooden cage, or box, and has plenty of provisions, to which he readily retires of himself while the day continues, but as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual agitation to get out, and will even use violent efforts to effect that purpose if he is fastened in; this he never attempts during the day, unless pressed to make some natural evacuation, in which case he always gets to the furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind of dirt in the place he lives in; even his straw he pushes out with his nose when it begins to smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper, to supply its place. He had no particular attachment to his box, for he would often forsake it for some obscure corner, and when once his bed was made, he could only be made to leave his new habitation by force. This animal, which was a female, gave a strong proof of her propensity to cleanliness, for a large male rabbit being put with her when she was in season, she received him with a degree of fondness, and something was expected from them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body, and even suffer him to take away the greatest part of her food; but upon voiding his excrement, in their common apartment, she immediately took an aversion to him, and retired to the bottom of an old press, making herself a bed with paper and rags, nor would she return to her house again, until she perceived it was cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion."

The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and tractable, unless when much irritated. He is very fond of being noticed, and will lick the hands of those who caress him; he very readily distinguishes the voices of those who take care of him, and when stroked on the back, he will lie down on his belly, stretch himself out, and, with a gentle cry, express his gratitude for the favour, and seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of in a rough manner, he will struggle violently to escape. His muscles are very strong, yet his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch on the skin will excite in him the most sensible emotions; and which sensibility, though commonly producing good humour, will sometimes, by irritation, or presenting an offensive object, put him in the most violent passion. A strange dog invariably produces the latter effect; and he has been observed, when shut in his cage, to make violent efforts to get out upon the appearance of one. It was at first thought he had no desire to come out but upon natural occasions; but one day, when he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor dog, and bit him very severely; but in a few days after he became perfectly familiar with the same dog. He will also fly at strangers, if they plague him, but he never offers to bite those by whom he is taken care of. He has a dislike to children, and will run after them; and when in a passion he makes a kind of grunting, and at the same time a chattering with his teeth. He very frequently sits for a considerable time together on his posteriors, and has a common practice of appearing to comb his head and whiskers with his paws, which he repeatedly licks with his tongue. When thus employed, he scratches all parts of his body which he can reach with his fore paws, and afterwards the remainder with his hind ones. He is, however, a gross animal; he does not appear delicate; his coat is not smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily and somewhat like a hog; whom he also resembles by the whiteness and thickness of his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and when he does, it is very aukwardly.

This animal, though not full grown, measured more than eighteen inches from the point of his nose to the extremity of his body, and he could stretch himself out to near two feet, while the one which I formerly described was not more than seven inches five lines, and this difference was evidently to be attributed to their ages, as in all other respects they were perfectly similar.

This animal measured about seven inches high before, and nine and a half behind, by which his head always appeared lower than his hind parts: his head is five inches long, and rather convex; he has large brown eyes, two inches asunder, short round ears, covered with a fine down, a broad black nose, divided like that of a hare, very large nostrils, and in which he has great strength; the upper jaw comes out above an inch beyond the lower; he has a fold along them that may at first sight be taken for the mouth, but which is scarcely perceptible unless it is open; he has two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with which he can cut through wood, and I have known him make a hole in a plank in a single night through which he could put his head; but, although several times attempted, he would never permit us to count his grinders; he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on each side his nose, consisting of black and white hairs; he has five toes on each foot, and long claws on them, of a flesh colour; and his tail is merely a kind of button, does not exceed five lines in length, and requires a close inspection to discover it.

The paca, when domesticated, will eat any thing that is given him, and if fed with bread he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is extremely fond of sugar and fruits, and will leap about for joy when they are given him; he seems to have the same relish for grapes, celery, onions, or garlic; he will also eat grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood; he drinks like a dog; his urine has a disagreeable smell, and his excrements are like those of the rabbit.

As there can be little doubt but these animals would produce in the climates of France; as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is excellent food, they might be rendered an advantageous acquisition, especially as one individual would be equal to seven or eight rabbits, and their flesh not inferior.

M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing particulars, and says also that the paca generally has his hole on the banks of rivers, and that he so forms it as to have three ways to enter or retreat; that when disturbed he takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate his escape by diving frequently, and that he makes a stout defence when attacked by dogs.

THE OPOSSUM.

The opossum is an animal of America, which is easily distinguished from all others by two singular characters; first, the female has under the belly a large cavity where she receives and suckles her young; secondly, both male and female have no claws on the great toes of the hind feet, which is separated from the others, as the thumb on the human hand, whilst all the other toes are armed with crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds. The first of these characters has been observed by most travellers and naturalists, but the second had escaped their observation. Edward Tyson, an English physician, seems to be the first who made this remark; and he only has given a good description of the female in a treatise printed in London in 1698, under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum. Some years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated English anatomist, communicated to Tyson the observations which he had made Upon the male. Other authors, and especially the nomenclators, who have multiplied beings without necessity, have here fallen into numerous errors respecting this animal.

Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the same animal as the oriental philandre of Seba, since of all the animals which Seba has described, and to which he gave the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya, this is the only one who has a bag under the belly, and thumbs without claws behind. This animal is a native of the warm climates of the new world; for the two we have in the king's cabinet came from America. That which Tyson had, was sent him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon, correspondent of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico, who has given us a young opossum, acknowledged the two others to be true opossums of America. All the travellers agree, that this animal is found in Brasil, New Spain, Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention having seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba was mistaken in calling it the oriental philandre. He says, his philandre was sent him from Amboyna, under the name of coes-coes, with other curiosities, but he confesses, at the same time, that it had been transported from some other remote countries to Amboyna. This should be sufficient to shew, that the denomination of oriental philandre was improper; for it is possible that travellers have transported this animal from America to the East Indies, but nothing proves that he is a native of Amboyna; and even the passage of Seba, which we have quoted, seems to indicate the contrary. The cause of this error and even of the name _coes-coes_, is found in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and only in the island of Amboyna, is found an animal very much like the opossum of Brasil to whom the natives give the name of _cous-cous_. Piso quotes no authority for this assertion. It would be strange, if it was true, as Piso affirms, that this animal is only found in Amboyna, while Seba, on the contrary, says, that the opossum sent him from Amboyna, was not a native of that island, but had been brought there from more distant countries; though he was ignorant of the native country of his philandre, he nevertheless gave him the epithet of oriental, though he is certainly the same animal as that of the West Indies; the proof of it will clearly appear by comparing the figure he has given with Nature. But another error of this author is, that while he gives to the opossum of America the name of great oriental philandre he presents us another animal, which he thinks a different one, under the name of the philandre of America; and which according to his own description, differs only from the former by being smaller, and having the spots above the eyes of a deeper brown colour; which differences are merely accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute two different species, for he does not mention another difference more essential, if it existed, that Seba's philandre of America has sharp claws on the hind toes of the hind feet, while his oriental philandre has no claws upon his two thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which is the true one of America, has no claws to his toes behind; if an animal with sharp claws did exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could not be, as he asserts, the opossum of America. But this is not all, Seba mentions a third animal, under the name of oriental philandre, of whom, however, he speaks only after Valentin, an author who, as we have observed already, deserves little credit: and this third animal is yet the same as the two first. We are, therefore, persuaded that the three animals of Seba are individuals of the same species, and which species is the same as our opossum; and that the difference between them might be occasioned by their age, as it entirely consists in their size and slight variations in their colour, particularly in the spots above their eyes.

Seba says, "that according to Valentin, this last philandre is the largest species seen in the East Indies, and particularly among the Malays, where he is called _pelandor aroé_, which signifies a rabbit of _Aroé_, though Aroé is not the only place where these animals are found; that they are common in the island of Solor; that they are kept promiscuously with rabbits, to whom they do no harm; and that the inhabitants eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent." These facts are very doubtful, not to say absolutely false, for according to Seba, this is not the largest species of the oriental philandre, that it bears no resemblance to the rabbit, therefore is very improperly termed the rabbit of Aroé; and that no person who has travelled in the East Indies has mentioned this remarkable animal; neither is he found in the island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient continent. Seba himself seems to have perceived not only the incapacity, but also the inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F. Valentin has written a Natural History of the East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and Seba refer to a passage wherein he affirms, "that the pouch of the philandre is the womb in which the young are conceived; that having himself dissected a female, he found no other; and if that pouch is not the real womb, the teats are to the young, what the pedicles are to fruits, that they stick to them till they are sufficiently grown, and then they are separated like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness." What seems to be the truth is, that Valentin, who affirms that those animals are common in the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never seen any there; that all he says, even his most manifest errors, are copied from Piso and Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of Ximenes, and are mistaken in everything they have advanced of their own authority; for Marcgrave and Piso say expressly and observatively, as well as Valentin, that the pouch is the true womb where the young of the opossums are conceived. Marcgrave says, he dissected one, and found no other womb: Piso, who says he dissected many, affirms he never could discover any womb in the internal parts, and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded, that this animal is found at Amboyna. One may judge of what credit ought to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin's assertions, the first of whom had not examined with accuracy; the second had added to the errors of the first, and the last copied from both.

I should willingly ask pardon of my reader for the length of this critical disquisition, but when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest circumstances.

M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds, has adopted whatever he found in that of Seba, and adopts both his denominations and descriptions; he goes even farther than his author, in making three distinct species of the philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had adhered to Seba, he would have observed that the latter did not give them as really different from each other. Seba had no doubt that an animal of the warm climates of America, could be found also in the torrid regions of Asia; but he distinguished them according as they came to him from one or the other continent. It seems clear that he does not use the word species in its most strict sense, nor did Seba ever pretend to make a methodical division of animals into classes, genera, and species; he has only given the figures of the different animals in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according as he saw some difference in their size, colour, or the countries from which he received them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson was not authorised by Seba, in making three different species of philandres, especially as he has not employed the distinctive characters, and makes no mention of the want of the claws, in the hind toes of the hind feet; he only says, in general, that the toes of the philandres have claws, without making any exception; yet the one which he saw in the King's cabinet, and which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind toes of the hind legs, and which seems to be the only one he has seen. The work of M. Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue the species are more numerous than in that of Nature.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._

We have now only to examine the nomenclature of Linnæus, which in this article is much less erroneous than in many others, for he suppresses one of the three species of Seba; but he should have reduced them to one. Besides, he employs the distinctive character of the toes behind without claws, which none but Tyson had observed. The description which Linnæus gives of the opossum as the _marsupialis_, seems to be a good one, and agreeable to Nature, but he is in an error when under the name of opossum he designs an animal different from his _marsupialis_, upon the authority of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this opossum had no claws to the toes behind, whilst they are very visible in the figures of Seba. Another error is, considering the _maritacaca_ of Piso, as the same animal as the _carigueya_, whilst these two animals, though mentioned in the same chapter, are mentioned by Piso as two different animals, and he describes them one after the other. But his greatest error is in making two different species of the _marsupialis_ and the opossum; they have both, according to Linnæus, the pouch, the hind toes of their hind feet have no claws, are both natives of America, and only differ in this respect, by the first having eight paps, and the second only two, and the spot above the eyes more pale. These characteristics cannot be sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species; for the first can scarcely be called a difference; nor can any thing be established as fixed or certain, in regard to the order and the number of the paps, since they vary in the same species of most animals.

From this examination, which we have made with strict impartiality, it appears, that the _philandre_, _opossum_, _seu carigueya Brasiliensis_, and the _philander orientalis maximus_ of Seba; those of M. Brisson, and the _marsupialis_ and _opossum_ of Linnæus are all of them the same animal, which is our opossum whose natural climate is South America; and who was never seen in the East Indies, but when transported thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty still remains in regard to the _taiibi_, which Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different from the _carigueya_, but which Johnston, Seba, Klein, Linnæus, and Brisson, have presented as distinct from the preceding. In Marcgrave the two names of _carigueya_ and _taiibi_ are found in the same article, where it is said, that this animal is called _carigueya_ in Brasil, and _taiibi_ in Paraguay. There is afterwards a description of the _carigueya_ taken from Ximenes; and then another is given of the animal called _taiibi_, by the Brasilians; _cachorro domato_, by the Portuguese, and _hooschratte_, or the rat of the wood, by the Dutch. Marcgrave does not say this is an animal different from the _carigueya_, but on the contrary, considers it as the male of that species; and it appears clearly, that the male and female opossum were called _taiibi_ in Paraguay, and that in Brasil they gave the name of _taiibi_ to the male, and that of _carigueya_ to the female. Besides, the difference between those two animals, such as it is indicated by their descriptions, is too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the same species. The most essential is, the colour of the hair, which in the _carigueya_ is yellow and brown, and grey in the _taiibi_, the hairs of which are white at their bottom, and brown or black at the extremities. It is therefore more than probable, that the _taiibi_ is the male opossum. Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion, when speaking of the _carigueya_, and the _taiibi_. Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave's authority, and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the figure of an animal, under the name of the _taiibi_; and says, at the same time, that this _taiibi_ is the same animal as the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes; this is adding error upon error; for even according to Seba, his _taiibi_, which is a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes gives to his _tlaquatzin_ this bag as a particular characteristic; consequently the _taiibi_ of Seba cannot be the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, as it has no pouch, nor the _taiibi_ of Marcgrave, since it is a female; it is certainly, therefore, another animal badly designed, and badly described, to whom Seba thought proper to give the name of _taiibi_, and which he confounds with the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, which as we have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and Linnæus have, in regard to the _taiibi_, literally followed Seba; they have copied even his error in regard to the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, and both, have made an equivocal species of this animal, the first under the name of _philandre_ of Brasil, and the second under that of _philander_. The true _taiibi_ of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore the _taiibi_ of Seba, the _philander_ of Linnæus, nor the Brasilian _philander_ of Brisson; nor are the two latter the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes. The _taiibi_ of Seba (supposing his existence) is a different animal from all those treated of by the above authors, and ought to have had a particular denomination, and not been confounded with the _taiibi_ of Marcgrave, which has nothing in common with him; besides, as the male opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising that they have been taken for different animals, as that the female is called carigueya, and the male taiibi.

Edward Tyson dissected and described the female opossum with care; in the individual which served him for subject, the head was six inches, the body thirteen, and the tail twelve in length: the fore legs were six inches, and the hind legs four inches and a half in height: the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference; the tail three inches round in the beginning, and only one inch towards the extremities; the head three inches betwixt the two ears, decreasing gradually to the nose; and was more like that of a pig than a fox; the sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the direction from the ears to the nose; the ears are rounded, and about an inch and a half long; the mouth was two inches and a half wide from one of the corners of the lip to the extremity of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes armed with crooked claws, but in the hind feet he had only four toes with claws, and the fifth toe, or thumb, was separated from the others, was placed lower, and had no claws. All his claws were without hair, and covered with a skin of a reddish colour, and very near an inch in length; his hind and fore paws were large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the toes. The tail was covered with hair for two or three inches from the beginning, and the rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end. These scales were whitish, almost hexagonal, and placed regularly, so that they did not encroach upon each other, but were divided by a skin browner than the scales. The ears were without hair, thin and membranous like the wings of a bat, and very open. The upper jaw longer than the under; the nostrils large, the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck short, the breast wide, and the whiskers like those of a cat: the hairs of the forehead whiter and shorter than those of the body; his colour a yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the back and sides, more brown on the belly, and still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the female (_fig. 131._) is a skin two or three inches long, which forms a kind of pouch by a double fold thinly covered with hair on the inside, and which pouch contains the teats. The young enter into this pouch to suck, and soon acquire the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that they retire thither whenever they are frightened. This pouch opens and shuts according to the will of the animal; which it effects by several muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to the opossum; these two bones are about two inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities, and support the muscles which open the pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal the opening cannot be seen, without forcibly dilating it with the fingers. The inside of this pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow substance, the smell of which is so offensive, that it infects the whole body of the animal; yet when this matter is dried, it not only loses its disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume which may be compared to that of musk. This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso have falsely asserted, the place in which the young are conceived; the female opossum has an internal womb, different indeed from that of other animals, but in which the young are conceived, and remain till they are brought forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there are two wombs, two vaginas, and four ovariums. M. Daubenton does not agree with Tyson in these particulars; but by his description, it is at least certain, that in the organs of generation of the opossums, there are several parts double which are single in other animals. The glans penis of the male, and the glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked, and seem double. The vagina, which is single at the entrance, is afterwards divided into two channels; this conformation is very singular, and differs from that of all other quadrupeds.

The opossum belongs to the south parts of the new world, but he does not, like the armadillo, seem confined to the hottest climates, for he is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and Mexico, but also in Florida, Virginia, and other temperate regions of this continent. They are very common in these countries, as they bring forth often, and most authors say four or five, others six or seven, at a time. Marcgrave affirms, that he has seen six young ones alive in the pouch of the female; they were about two inches in length, were very nimble, and went in and out of the pouch many times in a day. They are very small when just brought forth: some travellers say they are not bigger than flies when they go out of the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves to the teats. This fact is not so much exaggerated as might be imagined, for we have seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat like that of the opossum, young ones sticking to the teats not bigger than beans; and it is not improbable, that, in these animals, the womb is only the place of conception and first formation of the foetus, whose unfolding is completed in the pouch. No one has observed the time of their gestation, which we think is shorter than in any other quadruped; and as this early exclusion of the foetus is a singularity in nature, we wish those who have an opportunity of observing the opossums in their native country would contrive to discover how long the females go with young, and how long the young remain attached to the teats. This observation is curious in itself, and may become useful, in pointing out some means of preserving the lives of children born before their natural period.

That the young opossums stick to the teats of the mother till they have acquired strength, and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar to this species only, since we have seen it in that of the _marmose_. The female marmose has not, like the opossum, a bag under the belly; it is not, therefore, in consequence of the assistance which the young receive from the pouch that they stick so long to the teats, and increase in that immoveable situation. I make this observation to prevent the pouch being considered as a second womb, or at least an asylum necessary to the young before they are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they stick to the teats for several weeks, others say that they remain in the pouch only the first month after they came out of the womb. The pouch may be opened, the young counted, and even felt, without disturbing them, for they do not leave the teats, which they hold with their mouths, before they are strong enough to walk; then they fall into the bag, and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence; they often go in again to sleep, to suck, and to hide themselves when terrified; in cases of danger the mother flies, and carries the whole of her young with her. Her belly does not seem to have any increased bigness when she is breeding, for in the time of the true gestation it is scarcely perceivable that she is with young.