Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-16
FUR, HAIR AND SCALES
Story of a New Exhibit Prepared for the
National Museum.
1t ts Designed to Show the Varfoua
Notifications of the Skin
of Animals.

Osteologist Lucas of the National MI.
scum is preparing a new exhibit, which is
designed to show the various notifications
of the skin of animals.
To begin WITH there will be a queer sort
Of alligator from South America, called
the 'jacari.' 1t is quite different from any
alligator of North America, belonging to
peculiar genus that has bony plates on
the under side as well as on the upper side
of the body. This is distinguishing mark
of the tribe. such alligators as are known
elsewhere in the world being thus armored
only on their backs. The armor plates of
the alligator are Of true bone-the same
sort of bone as that of the animals skele-
ton.
II you will examine the skin on the back
of your hand you will find that it is CORFU
gated and broken up with fine lines in such
way that you can easily imagine its
scales. Now, you have only to gaze upon
an armadillo in order to see such mod
ifcation of the skin. In Africa is found a
yet more curious animal. called the ''manis
macrura, which is the most scaly of all
scaly beasts. From the tip of its nose to
the end of a very long tail it is clad in big
horny scales that overlap one another.
When alarmed 1t curls itself I'D into a
tight little ball, and. the scales being quite
sharp, 1t Is pretty safe against attack. In
this case also the scales are merely mod
flied skin. 1t is worth mentioning by the
way. that the manis macrura possesses q
greater number of vertebrae than any
other mammal.
Mr.. Lucas will show, in the same case
with the jacari and the armadillo. "schel-
topusic." This is a lizard from Sicily. The
casual observer would take 1t for q snake,
its legs being rudimentary and concealed
beneath the skin. The entire body of the
reptile is covered with little plates of bone.
AS in the case Of the alligator above de-
scribed. the bony plates of the lizard are
merely modified skin. The same is true of
the very remarkable box fish" of the
West Indies, which is clad in a complete
armor of six-sided plates Of BONE which
are fastened to the skull and to the bases
of the dorsal and anal fins. An odd point
about this fish is that 1T cannot bend its
body at all, the vertebrae, save only three
or four near the tail. being fused together.
Thus the backbone is a solid rod.
The scales of the armadillo are of bone.
covered with horn. the bone and the horn
corresponding, respectively, to the true
skin and the epidermis of a human being
or other animal. Bony plates anc spines
horn is modified epidermis. Human beings
sometimes develop horns, but they are alb
normal growths. Another queer fish that
will be shown in connection with this ex-
hibit is the globe fish," which is found in
waters off the coast of South Carolina. 1t
Is clad in an armor of interlocked spines,
which are made to stand erect at the will
Of the animal, thus rendering the latter an
unattractive morsel to swallow. In a world
like this, where every living creature is
the prey and food Of others. animals are
often obliged to put on coats Of mail IL
they would survive.
Mr.. Lucas will make fur and feathers a
part of the exhibit. Feathers and hair are
the same thing, differently modified, of
course. A stuffed and fretful porcupine
will illustrate the fact that mammals as
well as birds have quilts. This is true of
several species of mammals, notably the
European hedgehog, which is a disagree
or
while ago there were a couple Of porcu-
pines in the geological collection in the rear
of the Smithsonian Institution. One of
them assailed an attendant, and stuck
about thirty of its quilts into his legs He
the attendant, not the porcupine-told a
writer for The Star yesterday that the
quilts came out of the porcupine much
more easily than they came out of his leg.