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Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). Cingulata is an order of armored placental mammals.Members of this order are called cingulates, or colloquially, armadillos.They are primarily found in South America, though the northern naked-tailed armadillo is found mainly in Central America and the nine-banded armadillo has a range extending into North America.
The nine-banded armadillo has been rapidly expanding its range both north and east within the United States, where it is the only regularly occurring species of armadillo. The armadillo crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in the late 19th century, and was introduced in Florida at about the same time by humans.
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]
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The armadillo is omnivorous; its diet consists of insects, vertebrates and plant material (especially pods of Prosopis), varying considerably depending upon the season. The animals increase their weight by up to 10% in winter, forming a layer of subcutaneous fat 1 to 2 cm (0.39 to 0.79 in) thick.
Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant armadillos (maximum body mass of 45 kg (100 lb) in the case of the giant armadillo [2]) existed until recently: pampatheriids, which reached weights of up to 200 kg (440 lb) [3] and chlamyphorid glyptodonts, which attained masses of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) [4] or more.
Southern naked-tailed armadillos are solitary, and are said to be nocturnal in the tropics [4] but have been reported to be diurnal further south. [3] As are many armadillos, it is an insectivore, feeding almost entirely on ants and termites. [4]
The six-banded armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus), also known as the yellow armadillo, is an armadillo found in South America. The sole extant member of its genus, it was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The six-banded armadillo is typically between 40 and 50 centimeters (16 and 20 in) in head-and-body length, and ...