. The popular natural history . Zoology. PHATAGIN. —(A/n«« tetradactyla.) jaws, which are powerful enough to drive a human being almost distracted with pain. The claws are not only employed in destroying the nest of the termite, but in digging burrows for its own residence, a task for which they are well adapted by reason of their great size and strength, and the vigour of the limbs to which they are attached. The Phatagin is a native of Western Africa, and is of considerable dimen- sions, reaching five feet in average length, of which the tail occupies three feet. From the great vvArNn, ^_ -^
. The popular natural history . Zoology. PHATAGIN. —(A/n«« tetradactyla.) jaws, which are powerful enough to drive a human being almost distracted with pain. The claws are not only employed in destroying the nest of the termite, but in digging burrows for its own residence, a task for which they are well adapted by reason of their great size and strength, and the vigour of the limbs to which they are attached. The Phatagin is a native of Western Africa, and is of considerable dimen- sions, reaching five feet in average length, of which the tail occupies three feet. From the great vvArNn, ^_ -^_^ length of the tail, it is ^^"^"^^^^^ sometimes called the Long-tailed Manis. The Bajjerkeit, or Short-tailed Manis, is a native of various parts of India, and is also found in Ceylon. Of this species Sir Emer- son Tennent gives the following short account: " Of the Edentates, the only example in Ceylon is the scaly ant-eater, called by the Singalese, Caballaya, but usually known by its Malay name of Pengolin, a word indicative of its faculty of ' rolling itself up' into a compact ball, by bending its head towards its stomach, arching its back into a circle, and securing all by a powerful hold of its mail- covered tail. When at liberty, they burrow in the dry ground to a depth of seven or eight feet, where they reside in pairs, and produce annually two or three young. " Of two specimens which 1 kept alive at different times, one from the vicinity of Kandy, about two feet in length, was a gentle and affectionate creature, which, after wandering over the house in search of ants, would a*lract attention to its wants by climbing up my knee, laying hold of my leg by its pre- hensile tail. The other, more than double that length, was caught in the jungle near Chilaw, and brought to me in Colombo. I had always understood that the Pengohn was unable to chmb trees, but the one last mentioned frequently ascended a tree in my garden in search of ants, and this is
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
