📷 http://www.birdphotos.com · CC BY 3.0
📷 Glyptodon-1.jpg: Arent Armadillo.jpg: Hollingsworth, John and Karen derivative work: Xvazquez
📷 Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand
IUCN: Least Concern
Nine-Banded Armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderCingulata›FamilyDasypodidae›GenusDasypus
About
The nine-banded armadillo wears bony armor plates and can hold its breath for six minutes to walk across stream beds. Every litter consists of four genetically identical quadruplets from a single fertilized egg. It digs for ants and termites with powerful claws and shelters in burrow systems it may share with other animals. Its range has expanded steadily northward through the twentieth century, and it is now common in Texas and Florida.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Forest, scrub, grassland, and subtropical woodlands with soft soil
🍃Diet Insectivore — ants, termites, beetles, and other invertebrates
📏Size & Weight Body 38–58 cm; tail 26–45 cm
•weight 2.5–6.5 kg
⏳Lifespan 7–20 years
🗺Range Southeastern and south-central United States through Mexico and Central America to Argentina
MammalXenarthran
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Forest, scrub, grassland, and subtropical woodlands with soft soil
🍃Diet Insectivore — ants, termites, beetles, and other invertebrates
📏Size & Weight Body 38–58 cm; tail 26–45 cm
•weight 2.5–6.5 kg
⏳Lifespan 7–20 years
🗺Range Southeastern and south-central United States through Mexico and Central America to Argentina
Photo Credits
#1http://www.birdphotos.com · CC BY 3.0
#2Glyptodon-1.jpg: Arent Armadillo.jpg: Hollingsworth, John and Karen derivative work: Xvazquez · CC BY-SA 3.0
#3Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0
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