Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo
Encyclopedia
The Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is an armadillo
species
endemic to Brazil
. It is one of only two species of armadillo (the other is the Southern Three-banded Armadillo
) that can roll into a ball. It has suffered a 30% decline in population in the last 10 years.
s and dry woodlands
where low rainfall and poor soil limit the vegetation to tall, woody grasses
, scattered bushes, and gnarled trees. There is an abundance of cactus-like
plants in the northern reaches of its range.
. They are rarely seen west of 50°W longitude.
s and termite
s, which it can smell through up to eight inches (20 cm) of soil. It finds food by shuffling slowly along with its nose to the ground. When it detects prey, it then frantically digs a hole and thrusts its nose into it, using its long, sticky tongue to lap up any insect
s it may find. Other foods include mollusks, worm
s, fruit
, and carrion
.
covered by nonoverlapping, keratinized epidermal scales, which are connected by flexible bands of skin. This armor covers the back, sides, head, tail, ears, and outside surfaces of the legs. The underside of the body and the inner surfaces of the legs have no armored protection, and are covered instead by long, coarse hair. The genus
Tolypeutes, which includes both the Brazilian and Southern species of three-banded armadillo, is unique in the ability to roll up in a tight, almost impenetrable ball. This is because the armor of three-banded armadillos is slightly looser than that of other armadillo families, which allows for greater freedom of movement. The loose armor of the three-banded armadillos also creates a layer of air between the shell and the body, which insulates the animal. This higher capacity for thermoregulation
allows the three-banded armadillo to survive in climates too arid for some of the other armadillo species. When the armadillo rolls into a defensive ball, the ears are tucked into the shell and the head and tail interlock to seal the shell completely. The teeth are soft and peg-like, adapted solely for smashing the exoskeletons of insects.
of 120 days at the end of which single, blind offspring is born. The newborn’s armor is soft, but its claws are fully developed, and it can walk and roll into a ball within hours of birth. The armor hardens by the third or fourth week, around the same time the eyes and earflaps open. The young armadillo is weaned at 10 weeks and reaches sexual maturity at 9–12 months.
n animals powerful enough to be a natural threat. The real danger to armadillos is the destruction of their habitat to make room for livestock
.
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
endemic to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It is one of only two species of armadillo (the other is the Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Southern Three-banded Armadillo
The Southern Three-banded Armadillo , also called the La Plata Three-Banded Armadillo, is an armadillo species from South America...
) that can roll into a ball. It has suffered a 30% decline in population in the last 10 years.
Habitat
The Brazilian three-banded armadillo lives primarily in open savannahSavannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
s and dry woodlands
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
where low rainfall and poor soil limit the vegetation to tall, woody grasses
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, scattered bushes, and gnarled trees. There is an abundance of cactus-like
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
plants in the northern reaches of its range.
Range
As its name suggests, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo is indigenous to Brazil, living primarily in the eastern part of the country, just south of the equatorEquator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. They are rarely seen west of 50°W longitude.
Diet
The main staples of the Brazilian three-banded armadillo’s diet are antAnt
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s and termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
s, which it can smell through up to eight inches (20 cm) of soil. It finds food by shuffling slowly along with its nose to the ground. When it detects prey, it then frantically digs a hole and thrusts its nose into it, using its long, sticky tongue to lap up any insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s it may find. Other foods include mollusks, worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, and carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
.
Anatomy
Brazilian three-banded armadillo weighs approximately 3.5 lbs (1.5 kg). They typically have a combined head and body length of 14–18 inches (35–45 cm) and a 2.5–3.5 inch (6–8 cm) tail, giving them a total length of 16.5–21.5 inches (41–53 cm). The armor is composed of ossified dermal scutesOssification
Ossification is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation...
covered by nonoverlapping, keratinized epidermal scales, which are connected by flexible bands of skin. This armor covers the back, sides, head, tail, ears, and outside surfaces of the legs. The underside of the body and the inner surfaces of the legs have no armored protection, and are covered instead by long, coarse hair. The genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Tolypeutes, which includes both the Brazilian and Southern species of three-banded armadillo, is unique in the ability to roll up in a tight, almost impenetrable ball. This is because the armor of three-banded armadillos is slightly looser than that of other armadillo families, which allows for greater freedom of movement. The loose armor of the three-banded armadillos also creates a layer of air between the shell and the body, which insulates the animal. This higher capacity for thermoregulation
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
allows the three-banded armadillo to survive in climates too arid for some of the other armadillo species. When the armadillo rolls into a defensive ball, the ears are tucked into the shell and the head and tail interlock to seal the shell completely. The teeth are soft and peg-like, adapted solely for smashing the exoskeletons of insects.
Behavior
Armadillos are chiefly solitary, but this species will occasionally travel in small family groups of up to three members. They are largely nocturnal, but have been known to forage during the day. All armadillos are spectacular diggers, but unlike most of the other species, three-banded armadillos do not dig in defense or to find shelter. They prefer to rest under bushes, rather than dig burrows, and their ability to roll into a ball makes defensive digging unnecessary. When they are not foraging, they move with a sort of trot, bouncing on the tips of their front toes, while their hind feet slap flatly on the ground. They mark their territory with secretions from glands on their face, feet, and rump. When threatened, they occasionally do not seal their armor completely, but wait until they are touched. They then quickly snap shut in an effort to startle the predator.Reproduction
The mating season lasts from October to January, during which time there is a brief courtship before mating. The female carries the young for a gestation periodGestation period
For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. The duration of this period varies between species.-Duration:...
of 120 days at the end of which single, blind offspring is born. The newborn’s armor is soft, but its claws are fully developed, and it can walk and roll into a ball within hours of birth. The armor hardens by the third or fourth week, around the same time the eyes and earflaps open. The young armadillo is weaned at 10 weeks and reaches sexual maturity at 9–12 months.
Threats
The defense system of the Brazilian three-banded armadillo makes it safe from the majority of predators. Adult pumas are the only South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n animals powerful enough to be a natural threat. The real danger to armadillos is the destruction of their habitat to make room for livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.