The Southern Three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus), also called the La Plata Three-Banded Armadillo, is an armadillo species from South America.[2] It is found in parts of northern Argentina, southwestern Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, at elevations from sea level to 770 m.[1]
The Southern Three-banded Armadillo and the other member of the genus Tolypeutes, the Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo, are the only species of armadillo capable of rolling into a complete ball to defend itself. The three characteristic bands that cover the back of the animal allow it enough flexibility to fit its tail and head together, allowing it to protect its underbelly, limbs, eyes, nose and ears from predators. The shell covering its body is armored and the outer layer is made out of keratin, the same protein that builds human fingernails. They are typically a yellow or brownish color and are smaller than many other species of armadillos, ranging in size from about 9 to 13 inches when full grown. Unlike most armadillos, they are not fossorial.[1]
The Three-banded Armadillo has a long, sticky, straw-like pink tongue that allows it to gather up and eat many different species of insects, typically ants and termites. In captivity, armadillos also eat foods such as fruits and vegetables.
The species is threatened by habitat destruction from conversion of its native Dry Chaco to farmland, and from hunting for food and the pet trade.[1]
[edit] Gallery
Southern Three-banded Armadillo at the Louisville Zoo.
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Individual in the process of curling up.
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Individual rolled up into a defensive ball.
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Abba, A., Cuellar, E., Meritt, D., Porini, G., Superina, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group (2008). Tolypeutes matacus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 December 2008.
- ^ Gardner, Alfred L. (16 November 2005). "Order Cingulata (pp. 94-99)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 98-99. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=11700053.
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