The Four Species
Have Nearly Similar Habits; The _Peludo_, However, Is Nocturnal,
While The Others Wander By Day Over The Open Plains,
Feeding On Beetles, Larvae, Roots, And Even Small Snakes.
The
_apar_, commonly called _mataco_, is remarkable by having only
three moveable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering
being nearly inflexible.
It has the power of rolling itself
into a perfect sphere, like one kind of English woodlouse.
In this state it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog
not being able to take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite
one side, and the ball slips away. The smooth hard covering
of the _mataco_ offers a better defence than the sharp
spines of the hedgehog. The _pichy_ prefers a very dry soil;
and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many months
it can never taste water, is its favourite resort: it often tries
to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. In the
course of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally
met with. 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).
Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus,
or Cophias [18]), from the size of the poison channel
in its fangs, must be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to
some other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake,
and intermediate between it and the viper. In confirmation
of this opinion, I observed a fact, which appears
to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every
character, even though it may be in some degree independent
of structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees.
The extremity of the tail of this snake is terminated by a
point, which is very slightly enlarged; and as the animal
glides along, it constantly vibrates the last inch; and this
part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, produces
a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at the distance
of six feet. As often as the animal was irritated or
surprised, its tail was shaken; and the vibrations were extremely
rapid. Even as long as the body retained its irritability,
a tendency to this habitual movement was evident.
This Trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the
structure of a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake: the
noise, however, being produced by a simpler device. The
expression of this snake's face was hideous and fierce; the
pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery
iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and the nose terminated
in a triangular projection. I do not think I ever saw
anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps, some of the vampire
bats.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 76 of 402
Words from 38719 to 39228
of 208183