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Template:Taxobox begin Template:Taxobox image Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox phylum entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry Template:Taxobox familia entry Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section subdivision Chlamyphorus
Cabassous
Chaetophractus
Dasypus
Euphractus
Priodontes
Tolypeutes
Zaedyus Template:Taxobox end Armadillos are any of several small mammals of the family Dasypodidae, mostly known for having a bony armor shell.

Their average size is about 75 centimetres (30 inches) total length including tail.

It is a placental mammal of the order Xenarthra, related to the anteater. There are several species of armadillo, distinguished by how many bands are visible on their armor among other characteristics.

All species of armadillos are native to the American continents, where they inhabit a variety of environments. In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the 9-banded armadillo, which is most common in the central southern states, particularly Texas.

Armadillos eat mostly insects, grubs, and other invertebrates.

The armadillo is a prolific digger, and uses its sharp claws to burrow both to feed on grubs and to dig dens in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos it generally lives and feeds near.

The main defense of all armadillos is an armor-like outer skin. The survival tactics of the different subspecies of armadillos vary widely. When threatened by a predator, the South American 3-banded armadillo will roll up into a ball. The North American 9-banded armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often smacks itself into the undercarriage of cars passing over it, which is an example of a animal's vestigial reflex made useless, obsolete, and counterproductive by humans.

A mating behavior of the male armadillo is to, in mating season, flip himself over in an attempt to win the female's admiration. Occasionally the male armadillo will land on its head, causing no harm but undoubtedly decreasing the chance of a future with the armadilette he's suiting.

Armadillos are often used in the study of leprosy, since they are one of the only other animal species that can contract the disease. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium.

Armadillos also serve science through their bizarre reproductive system, in which four identical quadruplets are born in each clutch of armadillos. Because they are always identical the group of four armadillos provide good subjects for scientific, behavioral, or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in the testees.

The armadillo was, with some resistance, made the state mammal of Texas.

Family Dasypodidae

External link

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