all size." It is noteworthy, also, for the
large number of species having arboreal habits, the density and extent
of the Amazon forests favouring their development rather than the
development of those of terrestrial habits. Of Quadrumana there are
about fifty species in Brazil, all arboreal, thirty-eight of which
inhabit the Amazon region. They belong mostly to the _Cebidae_ family,
and are provided with prehensile tails. The Carnivora are represented
by six species of the _Felidae_, the best known of which is the onca,
or jaguar (_F. onca, L_.), and the cougar, or puma (_F. concolor_);
three species of the _Canidae_, the South American wolf (_C.
jubatus_), and two small jackals (_C. brasiliensis_ and _C. vetulus_);
and a few species of the Mustelina including two of the otter, two
_Galictis_ and one _Mephitis_. Of the plantigrades, Brazil has no
bears, but has the related species of raccoon (_Nasua socialis_ and
_N. solitaria_), popularly called _coatis_. The opossum (_Didelphis_)
is represented by three or four species, two of which are so small
that they are generally called wood rats. The rodents are numerous and
include several peculiar species. Only one species of hare is found in
Brazil, the _Lepus brasiliensis_, and but one also of the squirrel
(_Scyurus_). Of the amphibious rodents, the prea (_Cavia aperea_),
moco (_C. rupestris_), paca (_Coelogenys paca_), cutia (_Dasyprocta
aguti_) and capybara (_Hydrochoerus capybara_) are noteworthy for
their size and extensive range. Their flesh is used as an article of
food, that of the paca being highly esteemed. Of the Muridae there are
several genera and a large number of species, some of them evidently
importations from the Old World. Brazil has three groups of animals
similar to the common rat--the _Capromydae_, _Loncheridae_ and
_Psammoryctidae_--the best known of which is the "tuco-tuco"
(_Clenomys brasiliensis_), a small burrowing animal of Rio Grande do
Sul which excavates long subterranean galleries and lives on roots and
bulbs. One of the characteristic orders of the Brazilian fauna is that
of the Edentata, which comprises the sloth, armadillo and ant-eater.
These animals are found only in the tropical regions of South America.
The range of the sloth is from the Guianas south into Minas Geraes,
the armadillo as far south as the Argentine pampas and the ant-eater
from the Amazon south to Paragua