Armadillo

== =**Size** An armadillo is about 6 to 4 and 1/2 feet.= =http://neyture.info/teachered/endanger/reports/mammals/armadillo/armadillo.html= =Diet= Armadillo are primarily **insectivores** (insect-eaters). They dig into the earth using their large claws to find food. They use their long tongue to get ants, beetles, termites, worms, grubs, other small animals and eggs. They have peg-like teeth. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/armadillo/9bandedprintout.shtml =Population= There are 30 to 50 million armadillos in the United States. http://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/history.html =Lifespan= Armadillos live to be about 20 years. [|www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/faq.html-37k-] =Habitat= The armadillo's habitat is forest near marshy regions, but it can live anywhere that is warm enough and supplies bugs to eat, even your back yard. http://pelotes.jea.com/armad.htm =Range= Armadillos are prehistoric-looking animals that belong to a family of mammals found primarily in Central and South America. The earliest fossil ancestor of our North American armadillo occurred about 60 million years ago; it was as large as a rhinoceros. Our present-day nine-banded or long-nosed armadillo, //Dasypus novemcinctus//, is much smaller; adults normally weigh from 8-17 pounds (3.5-8 kilograms) (Figure 1). This species occurs in Texas and east, throughout the South. It occasionally is found in Missouri and South Carolina. However, cold weather limits the northern boundary of the armadillo's range. Armadillos were not always present in Florida. During the past century, they expanded their range from Texas into the Florida panhandle. From 1920 to about 1970, there were several introductions of armadillos into the Atlantic coast region of Florida. Then the panhandle and peninsular populations expanded until they merged. Armadillos are now found in uplands throughout Florida, except in the Keys and parts of the Everglades and Big Cypress swamp. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW082 =Offspring= The extension of the armadillo’s territory throughout the Southern U.S. suggests that it has great reproductive capabilities (McDonough, 1997). The armadillo is one of very few mammals that always give birth to 4 identical offspring (Prodöhl, 1998). The breeding season for armadillos runs from June through November. During the mating season, armadillo mate pairs will often be seen foraging near each other (McDonough, 2000). Armadillos seem to exhibit novel behaviors when paired. Often, the male will perform a dorsal touch which will cause the female to begin tail wagging. This tail wagging then leads the male to sniff the anus of the female, presumably to monitor her receptivity. The pair bond does not necessarily seem to be synonymous with reproductive behavior, however. Pairing is not a good indicator of paternity (McDonough, 1997). It is interesting to note that armadillos (both males and females) see a spike in gamete production in the early springtime, far before pairing behavior occurs. A possible explanation could be the recent arrival of the armadillo in temperate climates. Jacobs notes that squirrels living in tropical climates breed year round, while those in temperate regions mate seasonally. Perhaps armadillos exhibit similar behavior (Jacobs, 1979). http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2005/Greendyke/Mating.html =Armadillo Facts= http://www.everworden.com/david/armadillo/facts.html
 * Contrary to popular belief, the nine-banded armadillo CANNOT roll itself into a ball to escape predators!! Only one of the twenty-odd varieties of armadillos -- the three-banded armadillo (//Tolypeutes tricinctus// ) -- is able to roll up. The other types are covered with too many bony plates to allow them to curl up. Other armadillos have to rely on their armored shells for defense while they scuttle away through thick, thorny brush or dig themselves a hole to hide in.
 * Armadillos always give birth to four identical young -- the only mammal known to do so.
 * All four young develop from the same egg -- and they even share the same placenta!
 * Armadillos are used in leprosy research because their body temperatures are low enough for them to contract the most virulent form of the disease.
 * Some female armadillos being used for research have given birth to young long after they were captured -- up to two years afterwards, in some cases! These "virgin births" are a result of the female's ability to delay implantation of the fertilized egg during times of stress. This reproductive tactic is one reason why the 'dillos are so good at colonizing new areas (such as the United States!).
 * Armadillos like to swim, and they are very good at it. They have a strong dog paddle, and can even go quite a distance underwater, walking along the bottom of streams and ponds. When they need to float, they gulp air into their intestines to make them more buoyant.
 * Armadillo teeth have no enamel (the hard outer covering of the tooth). They also have very few teeth -- just several peg-like molars. Since they primarily eat insects, they don't have to do a lot of heavy chewing, making big, strong teeth a waste of energy to grow.
 * Like most insect eating mammals, armadillos have a very long, sticky tongue to slurp up bugs as quickly as possible. They also are equipped with strong claws to tear open ant nests.
 * Armadillos have a very low metabolic rate, which means they don't waste a lot of energy producing heat. This also means that they are not good at living in cold areas, because they can't keep warm very well! They do not have any fat reserves, so they must forage for food on a daily basis. Just a few cold days in a row can be deadly to a 'dillo.
 * One way they conserve energy is through //reta mirabila// (Latin for "miraculous net")-- a system of veins and arteries in their legs. Hot blood going out through arteries is cooled by cold blood coming in through veins, and vice versa. This means that not much heat actually goes out into the legs, keeping it in the body. This also means they will get frostbitten very easily, since they have no way to warm their extremities through blood flow.
 * Baby armadillos have soft shells, like human fingernails. They get harder as the animal grows, depositing bone under the skin to make a solid shell.
 * According to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, it is illegal to own an armadillo in the state of Maine. Hawaii has strict regulations against the import of any foreign animal, including armadillos. The state of Montana classifies them as livestock, and regulates their import accordingly.