The species has been expanding the northernmost limits of its range for over 100 years. Its range extends from Argentina and Uruguay in the south, to the southeastern United States in the north. The nine-banded armadillo is found across a wider range, and further north, than any other armadillo. Where Is The Nine-Banded Armadillo Found?Īrmadillos are only found in the Americas, with most of the 21 living armadillo species being found in South and Central America. You can find out more about mammal characteristics on this page: Mammal Facts.It has a long snout, small eyes, large ears, and a long, tail, which is also armored.Īlthough the armadillo has a scaly, almost reptilian appearance, it’s actually a mammal: it has hair, is warm-blooded, and females nurse their young with milk. The nine-banded armadillo is a squat animal with short but powerful legs and a round body covered in heavy bony plates. Where Found: South, Central, and southern North America.This order, which contains all 21 living armadillos, is part of the superorder Xenarthra, a group of mainly South American animals that also includes sloths and anteaters. Type of Animal: The nine-banded armadillo is a mammal in the Order Cingulata.Nine-Banded Armadillo Family And Related Animals.Nine-Banded Armadillo Behavior and Life Cycle.Where Is The Nine-Banded Armadillo Found?.Nine-Banded Armadillo Facts At A Glance.Read on for nine-banded armadillo facts, pictures and in-depth information… The species, one of 21 living armadillos, is found in South, Central, and southern North America, and is the only armadillo regularly found in the USA. Young stay with their mothers for about two years-when they become sexually mature-before heading off to start their own families.The nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus is a mid-sized burrowing mammal with flexible, bone-plated armor covering its head, back and tail. A baby pangolin will ride on its mother’s back or tail from about a month old, after its scales harden, nursing and eating ants. Females typically bear a single offspring at a time Chinese pangolin males, which are much bigger than the females, stay with the family until the baby is weaned. Pangolins live alone except when it comes time to mate. When the ants swarm, the scales protect the pangolin from bites, and the ability to close off its nose and ears, as well as thick eyelids, help it deal with its stinging snack. Digging into it with its efficient claws, the pangolin sticks in its snout and laps up the insects with its very long and very sticky tongue, eating thousands of insects in one day. The pangolins might also be the reason those passageways are empty: Termites and ants make up 100 percent of the pangolin’s diet.Īfter dark, pangolins head out to feed, finding an ant colony or termite mound that looks tasty. During the day they stay in the burrows they’ve dug out with their long front claws-often next to ant or termite mounds-or in passageways vacated by termites. When threatened by predators such as big cats, the pangolin quickly rolls into a tight, scale-covered ball.Ĭhinese pangolins are nocturnal, solitary animals that spend most of their time on the ground, but they are also good climbers. Some poachers use dogs to find pangolins in their burrows and dig them out. Like its pangolin relatives, the Chinese pangolin has no defense against humans-not even teeth-and its underside is soft and unprotected. All of those species are listed as vulnerable. Despite protections, in some parts of Asia, including China and Vietnam, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and its scales are used in traditional medicine, despite no evidence that the scales cure anything.Īll of the four Asian species of pangolin are endangered or critically endangered, so poachers are setting their sights on the four African species to fill demand. Once found in forests and grasslands across southern China, parts of Southeast Asia, and into India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, poaching and trafficking have left the Chinese pangolin critically endangered. The Chinese pangolin is a scale-covered mammal that resembles an armadillo in appearance and an anteater in behavior, though it is more closely related to bears and cats than anteaters.
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