Armadillos
The diversity of armadillos is truly astonishing. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Some species give birth to one pup, others give birth to identical quadruplets and one species gives birth to six to twelve pups every litter, all of them identical twins.
Armadillos are the only mammals that have a carapace or dorsal armor made of small bony plates. This structure is composed of shields and movable bands that protect them from the environment, especially from predators. In many species, the tail is also covered by a protective sheath.
Try your skills at coloring an armadillo’s carapace with our digital armadillo coloring sheets.
To learn more about these armored animals, watch our video Why we need armadillos and how you can help!
Do not eat wild meat or support restaurants that serve it. By only eating farmed animals, we can help save wild populations.
Some ancient armadillos were huge. Some were the size of cars, like glyptodons.
Armadillo Facts for Kids:
• Armadillos are the only mammal with a shell
• When threatened, the three-banded armadillo has the habit of rolling into a ball. Although this is a behavior commonly attributed to armadillos, only the two species of Tolypeutes can curl up into a perfect ball.
• After mating, the females of some species can delay pregnancy when conditions will be better for her offspring, like when there will be more food available. Under stressful conditions, the offspring can be born more than two years after mating occurred!
• Newborns are called pups
• The Aztecs called the armadillos “azotochtli”, which means “turtle-rabbit” in their native language
The Anteater, Sloth, Armadillo Specialist Group has a store that directly helps xenarthran conservation!
