3 BANDED ARMADILLO SKIN

Speaking of low body temperature, armadillos run 92-97 degrees Fahrenheit, so like humans some are susceptible to leprosy. There's a space between their armor and their body that traps air and allows for better thermal regulation. This is because their armor isn't as close to their body as in other species. Now three-banded armadillos like Gaia can survive and thrive in extremely hot regions where other armadillo species can't. Instead, they use their rudimentary molars in the back, which are perfect for crushing the exoskeletons of insects like termites.Īrmadillos also have a low body temperature with not much fur to keep them warm, so they're limited to arid regions. These guys have no teeth in the fronts of their mouths. When she smells that, she digs into the Earth, sticks her nose in the hole, and then licks up the termites with her long sticky tongue. She skips along on the tips of her front claws and the pads of her back feet until she smells something that she wants to eat, usually termites. In the wild, food wouldn't just appear when she started digging, she'd have to search for it, and that's where her excellent sense of smell comes in. Right now she's getting ready cuz she knows treats are coming. She instinctually wants to dig when she thinks food is around. If you've noticed, Gaia likes to use her claws a lot.

So their armor is pretty cool, but let's move beyond that and see what else makes her amazing. Hunting, habitat loss due to grazing lands, and the pet trade are the biggest factors in the population decline. These guys' population is declining rapidly, and the Brazilian three-banded armadillo's status is endangered. So this ball of armor is pretty much a foolproof defense mechanism, unless the predator's a human. Three banded-armadillos rely on their armor for defense, so they don't really dig burrows, they mostly hide under bushes. Sometimes, they can get a little tricksy, leaving a little space here, but the predator might think they can stick they're toe or nose inside and then they'll snap it shut, trying to pinch or startle that predator. This hard bony armor is practically predator-resistant. They fit perfectly together like a puzzle. These guys even have a head plate and an armored tail. The larger six-banded and nine-banded, they just have too many bands to roll up completely. Three banded armadillos use their armor more effectively than other armadillos, because they can roll completely into an impenetrable ball.

3 BANDED ARMADILLO SKIN

It's similar to that of a tortoise, but unlike a tortoise, they have bands of armor connected by skin that allows more flexibility. It's composed of durable bone with an outer layer of keratin, called scutes. This genus has two species, the Brazilian three banded armadillo and the southern three banded armadillo. Her native habitat is the arid regions of south central South America as opposed to eastern Brazil.īut the most interesting feature of the armadillo is this incredible armor that they have. She's part of the genus Tolypeutes which means that she has three band that connect her hip armor to her shoulder armor.

We have one very special armadillo to feature today, Gaia the southern three-banded armadillo. Currently you can find them in South America all the way through the southern parts of North America. I love learning animal origin stories! Armadillos began to spread out from Paraguay and they diversified as they went. The armadillo's closest relative are in the super order Xenarthra, which includes anteaters and sloths, but that relation goes way back to when South America was an isolated continent back in the Cenozoic era, or age of mammals, when mammals really began to become diverse. There are 20 living species of armadillos, from the tiny pink fairy armadillo to the large aptly-named giant armadillo. They all have some kind of armor and strong digging claws. Jessi: Welcome to Animal Wonders, home of Gaia, the amazing ball of cute! I'm Jessi and today I want to share with you what makes armadillos so amazing. armadillos come in many shapes and sizes, but only one genus can roll completely into a ball. Jessi: Pink fairies, screaming hairies, long-nose and giant.

3 banded armadillo