The Pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) or Dwarf Armadillo is a small armadillo that is the only member the genus Zaedyus. The range of the Pichi is from central and southern Argentina (Patagonia), west to the Andean grasslands of Chile and south to the Strait of Magellan.
Its body is approximately 1-foot (0.30 m) long (260–335 mm) with a tail of 4-6 inches (100–140 mm). It has a dark brown head shield and carapace, thick dorsal plates, and well-developed claws. When threatened, the Pichi wedges itself into its shallow burrow making it difficult for an attacker to drag it out because of its jagged scales.
[edit] Subspecies
- Zaedyus pichiy caurinus Thomas, 1928
- Zaedyus pichiy pichiy Desmarest, 1804
[edit] See also
Pichi is also the designation for the English-lexicon Creole language of Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea]
[edit] References
- ^ Superina, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group (2008). Zaedyus pichiy. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 December 2008.
[edit] External links
.png){kind=small}
