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Scientists know of twenty species of armadillos in the world. The nine-banded armadillo, or peba, and also called the "common long-nosed," is the most widespread member of the armadillos and the species found in North America. (The six-banded armadillo; the apar, or three-banded armadillo; and the giant armadillo, are found in South America.) |
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Native to temperate and tropical regions of the Americas, the nine-banded armadillo ranges from Argentina and Uruguay in South America extending northward into the southern United States in North America and is found in Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and southern Oklahoma. Armadillos seem to prefer temperate and warm climates and do not generally venture too far north unless food is scarce.
The armadillo's body color can vary widely and ranges from a pinkish cast in some individual animals to a dark brownish shade in others. Additionally, black, as well as individuals posing a yellowish tinge on the body shell, may be seen. However, the majority are grayish or brown in appearance.
The armadillo sports a hard-plated shell that covers the body entirely except for the ears and belly region. Individual animals vary in length from five to 60 inches, (13 to 150 cm) and can weigh up to 120 pounds or 54kg. The nine-banded armadillo has short legs but can move rapidly and have been known to jump vertically as high as four feet when frightened.
Normal litter number of babies is four, with the group bearing identical genes, as they all four develop from the same egg. Newborn babies have tough skin that hardens within a few weeks following birth.
Armadillos are burrowing mammals with strong legs and sharp front claws for digging and foraging out food. An omnivore (an animal that eats both plants and animals), the armadillo's keen sense of smell compensates for poor eyesight. Most active in early morning and late evening, the mammal is classified as nocturnal and sleeps throughout the day, oftentimes sleeping as much as two-thirds of the day in any one given 24-hour period. Armadillos eat ants, carrion, fruits, fungi, grubs, insects, spiders, termites, tubers and small vertebrates.
The main predators that threaten armadillos are domestic dogs, coyotes and human motorists.
The modern armadillo is related to the anteater and the sloth. Fossilized ancestors of the armadillo, dating back as far as 60 million years ago, indicate that the animal once grew much larger than contemporary individuals -- about the size of the modern rhinoceros.
Scientific Classification |
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Editor's Note: Kentucky Crosswords would like to acknowledge the Library of Congress, National Geographic, the University of Florida and the University of Michigan as sources for the material included in this article. Please visit their Web sites for more in-depth information on the Nine-banded Armadillo.
