The dentition of the nine-banded armadillo is P 7/7, M 1/1 = 32. Armadillos have numerous cheek teeth which are not divided into premolars and molars, but usually have no incisors or canines. They have five clawed toes on their hind feet, and three to five toes with heavy digging claws on their fore feet. They dig their burrows with their claws, making only a single corridor the width of the animal's body. They use their claws for digging and finding food, as well as for making their homes in burrows. The nine-banded armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds.Īrmadillos have very poor eyesight, and use their keen sense of smell to hunt for food. Many species use their sharp claws to dig for food, such as grubs, and to dig dens. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites. The diets of different armadillo species vary, but consist mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. The largest species, the giant armadillo, can weigh up to 54 kg (119 lb), and can be 150 cm (59 in) long. The smallest species of armadillo, the pink fairy armadillo, weighs around 85 g (3.0 oz) and is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) in total length. Armadillos are increasingly documented in southern Illinois and are tracking northwards due to climate change. Their range has consistently expanded in North America over the last century due to a lack of natural predators. Two species, the northern naked-tailed armadillo and nine-banded armadillo, are found in Central America the latter has also reached the United States, primarily in the south-central states (notably Texas), but with a range that extends as far east as North Carolina and Florida, and as far north as southern Nebraska and southern Indiana. Some, including four species of Dasypus, are widely distributed over the Americas, whereas others, such as Yepes's mulita, are restricted to small ranges. They are particularly diverse in Paraguay (where 11 species exist) and surrounding areas. Today, all extant armadillo species are still present in South America. (Some of their much larger cingulate relatives, the pampatheres and chlamyphorid glyptodonts, made the same journey.) The recent formation of the Isthmus of Panama allowed a few members of the family to migrate northward into southern North America by the early Pleistocene, as part of the Great American Interchange. Due to the continent's former isolation, they were confined there for most of the Cenozoic. Like all of the Xenarthra lineages, armadillos originated in South America. Recent genetic research suggests that an extinct group of giant armored mammals, the glyptodonts, should be included within the lineage of armadillos, having diverged some 35 million years ago, more recently than previously assumed. The dagger symbol, "†", denotes extinct groups. Brazilian three-banded armadillo, Tolypeutes tricinctusīelow is a recent simplified phylogeny of the xenarthran families, which includes armadillos, based on Slater et al.Southern three-banded armadillo, Tolypeutes matacus.Greater naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous tatouay.
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