Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The word armadillo means ' little armored one ' in Spanish; [2] [3] it is derived from armadura ' armor ', with the diminutive suffix -illo attached. While the phrase little armored one would translate to armadito normally, the suffix -illo can be used in place of -ito when the diminutive is used in an approximative tense. [4]
Armour, although all used for the sole intent to ward off attackers, can be split into defensive and offensive armour. Examples of offensive armour are horns, hooves, antlers, claws and beaks, clubs and pincers, as developed in some mammals, birds, reptiles (including dinosaurs, such as the dromaeosaurid claw and the ceratopsian horn) and arthropods.
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. [5]
The second is possible due to its ability to hold its breath for up to six minutes, an adaptation originally developed for allowing the animal to keep its snout submerged in soil for extended periods while foraging. [7] Although nine is the typical number of bands on the nine-banded armadillo, the actual number varies by geographic range. [7]
[7] The pink fairy armadillo can curl up to protect the vulnerable soft underside, covered with dense white hair. [12] The armored shell consists of 24 bands that allow the animal to curl up in a ball, and the armor is flattened in the posterior portion of the animal so that it can compress dirt behind it as it is digging.
[6] [16] Little is currently known about this species' reproductive biology, and no juveniles have ever been discovered in the field. [17] The average sleep time of a captive giant armadillo is said to be 18.1 hours. [18] Giant armadillo skeleton (back) and skeleton of six-banded armadillo (front) at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology ...
In fact, that’s exactly how humans’ mammal ancestors rose to prominence, says Andrew Whiten, Ph.D., a professor of zoology and psychology at the University of St. Andrews.
Macroeuphractus is a genus of extinct armadillos from the Late Miocene to Late Pliocene of South America.The genus is noted for its large size, with Macroeuphractus outesi being the largest non-pampathere or glyptodont armadillo discovered, as well as its specializations for carnivory, unique among all xenarthrans.