Linden, Charles "The Unknown Brazilian Edentate," Forest and Stream, Vol. 15, No. 10 (7 October 1880), p. 186

It is about a year ago since the scientific world was startled by the report of a German naturalist traveling in southern Brazil, whence, in a lengthy communication to Nature, he substantiated the occurrence of a large and hitherto unknown quadruped inhabiting those forests. The animal itself had not been seen by him, but its tracks and diggings, as manifested in huge furrows channeled out in the soil of its primeval forest, supported the supposition that it was a creature of gigantic size. Notwithstanding the somewhat sensational character of the communication, it was, however, generally credited on account of the authenticity of its source.

By instituting inquiries in regard to this matter in the central valley of the Amazons, where I had spent in former years several months in collected specimens of natural history, I have come lately in receipt of some facts communicated to me by one of my Brazilian friends residing there still, which tend to throw some light upon this mysterious creature. My informant, who has squatted down twelve years ago in the very heart of the Amazonian forest, has come to know, in the course of time, all its notable animals, birds and reptiles, and gives the following points of information:

There are, he says, among many curious animals, three distinct and well marked species of the anteater living there. The smallest has, like many other quadrupeds of that interesting region, a prehensile tail, and is the most common species. The middle-sized one, which, in the most minute details, corresponds by designation with the great anteater, Myrmecophaga jubata, is called by the Indian hunters in the native dialect of the lingua geral, the Tamandua bandeiro, and is not often seen on account of its shy and retired habits. The third species again is utterly unknown to the white settlers of that region, though the Indians, who have an exact nomenclature for every large beast, bird, fish, lizard, or beetle, know it well by the name of Tamandua assu, which last adjective signifies large.

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