Most Americans are familiar with the nine-banded Armadillo. Did you know that there are over 19 other extant species of armadillo as well? This article will give brief overview of the general characteristics of all armadillos then a breakdown of the different types. After reading this, I’m sure you’ll find the armadillo as fascinating as I do.
Armadillos are known for their hard, bony shell, called “scutes”. As a matter of fact, their name means, “little armored one” in Spanish. Only the top and sides of the animal are armored. Their underbellies are covered with skin and fur. Early German settlers to the Southwestern United States called them “Panzerschwein” or “armored pig. In the late 1920s and 1930s, folks called armadillos the “Hoover Hog”, in reference to President Hoover’s “Chicken in Every Pot” speech. They aren’t related to the pig in any way, however. Armadillos are in the Xenartha order, the same as sloths and anteaters. They are in the order Cingulata, in the family Dasyodidae.
All armadillos have short, strong legs with sharp claws for digging. Their diets consist mainly of insects. They will occasionally eat vegetation and even bits of meat from carcasses although they generally do not hunt anything other than invertebrates. To avoid danger, armadillos depend of their quick speed and ability to burrow. They also have the ability to inflate itself with air in order to cross small bodies of water such as rivers. These animals have low body temperatures, making them excellent hosts for leprosy.
The species is known for its poor vision but makes up for this with good senses of hearing and smell. Their burrows consist of a small tunnel in which the snugly tuck themselves into. Every armadillo has between three and five toes on their front feet and five on their back feet. They are solitary animals and rarely share their dens with others of their species. All armadillos are native to the Americas.
All armadillos have peg-shaped teeth that lack an enamel shell. They don’t seem to be able to store much fat, making them very susceptible to colder climates. Now that you know a little about most of the common traits the different species share, let’s look at the different sub-families and what makes them unique.
The first sub-family we’ll look at is the nine-banded or Long-nosed Armadillos. There are six recognized species in this group, including the nine-banded armadillo, the great long-nosed armadillo, the hairy long-nosed armadillo, the Llanos long-nosed armadillo, the seven-banded armadillo and the Southern long-nosed armadillo. Of all of these, only the nine-banded lives in North America. Scientists are considering adding a seventh to the list, Yepes’s mulita, but there isn’t enough evidence to confirm it as a separate species.
The nine-banded or long-nosed armadillo, also known as Dasypus novemcinctus, is the only armadillo found in North America. It has very small amounts of hair on its body. Most of its light yellow hair is confined to its underbelly. Their shells can be dull yellow to muddy brown. The ears, tail and nose are long and pointed while their legs are short and powerful. Even though they have four toes on their front feet and five on their back feet, they leave three-toed track marks because they walk on just the ends of their feet. Despite their name, these animals may have anywhere from six to eleven bands of shell. Armadillos in northern and southern areas usually have eight bands, while central area subjects have nine. They range from 9.5 to 22.5 inches long, not including a 5 to 19 inch tail and can weigh in anywhere between 2.5 to 22 pounds.
Their normal range generally extends from the Southern United States through Peru and even some Caribbean islands such as Tobago. They enjoy areas of dense foliage as well as limestone and can be found up to nearly 10,000 feet. Armadillo nests are normally made of grass and foliage and found in burrows 1.5 feet to 12 feet deep and up to 25 feet long. Occasional nests can be found in palmetto clumps. Armadillos don’t mind sharing their dens with members of the same sex.
These armadillos, while mostly enjoying insects will readily adapt to almost any diet, including vegetation and animal matter. They will range as far as 8 miles, although the average is a mere 12.5 acres, as they hunt, emitting an unusual grunting sound the whole time. When they feel threatened, they will race off to the nearest burrow or curl up. A unique fact about this species of armadillo is that the normally produce four identical offspring from a single egg. Nine-banded armadillos live for an average of 13.5 years. This species also has a high rate of leprosy, making it excellent study material for scientists.
In the interest of brevity, we will simply glance over the remaining members of this sub-family. The Great Long-nosed Armadillo or Dasypus kappleri is very similar in size and habit as the nine-banded, with the exception of having somewhat less hair and some extra bands on its knees. They usually have from six to eleven bands of scutes. It lives mainly in Northern Brazil, Bolivia and Columbia and produces between 2 and 12 young per litter.
Dasypus pilosus, also known as the Hairy Long-nosed Armadillo only lives in a few isolated mountain areas of Southern Peru. As its name implies, this armadillo has an abundance of hair covering most of its body, with the exception of its head. This sub-species normally has 11 bands of shell.
The Llanos Long-nosed Armadillo, or Dasypus subanicola, resides mainly in the Llanos region of Colombia and Venezuela and has between 6 and 11 movable scutes and their ears a somewhat shorter than their cousins. They bear an average of four young with each litter.
The Seven-banded Armadillo lives in the very northernmost tip of Argentina, Eastern and Southern Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Its Latin name is Dasypus septemcinctus and they produce anywhere from 4 to 8 young per litter.
Dasypus hybridus is also known as the Southern Long-nosed Armadillo and normally lives in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. This sub-species normally has only 6 to 7 bands and their ears a slightly shorter than their North American relatives. They usually produce between 4 and 12 young.
There is one species of giant armadillo, called Priodontes maximus. It measures anywhere from 49 inches long up to 60 inches long from tip to tip and can weigh as much as 130 pound in captivity, although in the wild they may only weigh up to around 72 pounds. Their range is limited to Northern Argentina, Venezuela and most of South America lying to the east of the Andes Mountains. It has a white band around the edge of its shell and is normally very dark brown in color. The giant armadillo has between 11 and 13 flexible bands on its shell and 3 or 4 more covering its neck. Their hunting ranges are often well over 1100 acres. Only one or two young are born at a time, with a lifespan of around 14 years. Unfortunately, because of its large size it is often hunted by man for food and as a pest.
Scientists acknowledge three different species of hairy armadillos. They are the Andean Hairy Armadillo, the Hairy Armadillo and the Little Hairy Armadillo. All three are normally found in the central parts of South America.
Chaetophractus nationi, also known as the Andean Hairy Armadillo measures from around 12 inches up to 22 inches long and can weigh around 5 pounds. It’s normally found in Bolivia and the northern end of Chile. It has 18 bands, including 7 to 8 movable ones. They have a little more hair than the average armadillo and live in high grasslands. They have relatively small hunting ranges, averaging around 8.5 acres. They normally eat insects but have been known to devour snakes. Andean hairy armadillos usually produce one male and one female at birth. The hairy armadillo, or Chaetophractus villosus, lives in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay and has the same measurements and characteristics as its Andean relative. It can be found however, in drier desert-like conditions. The little hairy armadillo, or Chaetophractus vellerosus, is also called the Screaming Hairy Armadillo thanks to the squealing sounds it makes when frightened. It has the same basic measurements and characteristics as the two previous armadillos with the exception of its somewhat lighter weight of 2 pounds. It, too, is often found in drier locations of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. It tends to eat more vegetation and animal matter than its cousins, rather than insects.
There is also one known species of six-banded armadillo; its Latin name is Euphractus sexcinctus. It is also called the yellow armadillo. It is normally found in Argentina, Surinam and the Amazon basin, as well as Uruguay. The six-banded armadillo measures from 21 inches to 29 inches long and can weigh up to 15 pounds. It has between six and eight fairly hairy, movable bands on in body with two to four more at the base of its tail. This species differs from others in that it can store greater amounts of fat under its skin. It has a minimum foraging range of about 230 acres in which it feeds on vegetation, insects and scavenged meat. They have one to three young per litter.
Now we come to my favorite armadillo. The Pink Fairy Armadillo is also known as Chlamyphorus truncatus and is the smallest armadillo in existence. It measures a mere 5 inches on average and only lives in Central Argentina. As its name indicates, its shell is pink, but is only minimally attached to its body. They prefer to live in drier areas such as grasslands. They enjoy eating ants and worms but will nibble on other small insects and vegetation if the need arises. As cute as they are, I cannot recommend them as pets as they don’t live long in captivity. They are endangered due to habitat encroachment and dog attacks.
Closely related to the pink fairy armadillo is the greater fairy armadillo or Calyptophractus retusus. Only slightly larger, it measures an average of 7 inches long and lives in Northern Argentina, Central Bolivia and in Paraguay. Its shell is less pink than its smaller cousin and tends to be more white or yellow in color. Other than that, they are very similar to their smaller cousins.
Believe it or not, there are still seven more sub-species of armadillo roaming around Central and South America. While each of them has slight peculiarities that separate them as unique, they all share many of the same traits as those already discussed. The sad fact is that except for the nine-banded armadillo, all of them face a grim future due to habitat loss and hunting. I suggest we take the time to learn a little about this amazing group of animals while we still have the opportunity.
