An Account of a New Species of the Manis, or Scaly Lizard, Extracted from the German Relations of the Danish Royal Missionaries in the East Indies, of the Year 1765, Published at Hall, in Saxony, by Dr. Hampe, F. R. S.

V. An Account of a new Species of the Manis, or Scaly Lizard, extracted from the German Relations of the Danish Royal Missionaries in the East Indies, of the Year 1765, published at Hall, in Saxony, by Dr. Hampe, F. R. S. Read Feb. 6, "October the 15th, yeaster evening a rare and remarkable animal was in the city of Tranckebar discovered in the wall of an oil merchant's house, and with difficulty killed. The Mallabars call it Alungu. It somewhat resembles a large lizard, except the head and tail, which are alike as to shape, being both pointed, the former not unlike a mole's. The whole length is a German ell and five eighths long, and its breadth half an ell. The tail is half an ell long, and its broadest part a span wide. The fore feet are a quarter of an ell long, the hind ones a little longer. The snout is an eighth of an ell long, and the extremity of it a thumb in thickness. The whole body, excepting under the belly (where it is smooth for about the length and breadth of a man's hand), and under the feet, is covered with hard, strong, sharp, and bright scales, shaped like a muscle-shell, the largest of which are of the length and breadth of three fingers. Under MANIS manibus pentadactylis plantis tetradactylis. A. ALVNGV. B. ALVNGV, shews the Animal roll'd. C. Is the Snout. D. The Point of the Tail. "Under its scale come out two or three hairs like "hog's bristles. On its fore-claws are five strong "long nails, on the hind-claws but four. When pur- "sued, it rolls itself so together, that nothing but the "back and tail are to be seen. It could not be "killed, though struck with wooden poles armed "with iron, with which rice is stamped; but the "blows on the scales brought forth sparks of fire "from the iron. It was at last killed by a stroke "under the belly with an iron hook. What is re- "markable of this little animal is, that it is able to "kill an elephant, by twisting itself about that "large animal's trunk, and squeezing it with its "body and tail (on the sides of which are rows of "pointed scales) so long, that it kills the elephant. "This animal is seldom seen, except in large "valleys." Thus far the account from the reverend missionary Dame, who has likewise given us the present figure Tab. II.; the animal, from which it is taken, is di- stinguished by the number of the toes, from the hitherto known species: of these there are two, one of them covered with hair, the other with scales. The first is called by Linnæus Myrmecophaga, and the other Manis. Linnæus, in his 12th edition of the Sys- tem of Nature, has but two sorts of the latter species; the first has five toes (Manis pentadactyla) the other four (Manis tetradactyla) on both hind and fore feet. Between these two sorts, the present Alungu is to be placed, having from the first the fore-feet and from the latter the hind-feet. This animal belongs therefore to the family of ant-eaters, which have no teeth, teeth, but have a long and round tongue, with which they catch the ants. Whether the tail of this animal is eaten, as asserted of the other, Mr. Dame has not been able to find out. H. Hampe.