mataco
(ˈmætəkəʊ)
Also matacho, matico (Dicts.).
[prob. S. American.]
The three-banded armadillo, Tolypeutes tricinctus, a small species which is able to roll itself up into a ball.
| 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 353 The Mataco..is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Buenos Ayres, but is nowhere very common. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. v. (1873) 96 The apar, commonly called Mataco. 1849 Sk. Nat. Hist., Mammalia IV. 193 The Mataco, or Bolita (little ball) as it is sometimes called. |