What Does A Armadillo Look Like?

An armadillo looks like a little prehistoric creature with a protective shell that looks like armor.

• Species

There are about 20 existing species of the armadillo. Some of them are recognizable by the amount of bands that they have on their armor. All armadillos are indigenous to the Americas where they all inhabit a diversity of warmer environments. They are related to the sloth and anteater. 'Armadillo' is a Spanish word that means 'little armored one'. The Aztecs used to call them 'azotochtli' meaning 'turtle rabbit'.

• Appearance

Armadillos have quite a unique body, they have very sharp claws which they use to dig for nearly all of their food which consists mostly of insects. Their very small eyes are positioned on the sides of their head and while they are not totally blind, their vision is not too good. Instead, they use their sense of touch and their noses to find their food. Their legs are very short and they can stay underwater for quite a few minutes. They will inflate their lungs a great deal so that they can float along. They also have a lot of tiny teeth in no particular arrangement.

Their hard shell is a combination of very strong epidermal scales and bone. This outer shell will sometimes be used for defense but they prefer to escape into the bushes to flee a possible predator. They do not have a lot of natural enemies though, and are pretty friendly to humans as well. The Nine-Banded genus of armadillo will jump straight up into the air when they are scared; unfortunately this action causes automobiles to hit them quite often.

• Size

An average length for an armadillo is about 30 in or about 75 cm including the tail. The Giant Armadillo will grow as much as 59 in or 150 cm long and can weigh almost 130 lbs or 59 kg. The diminutive species of Pink Fairy Armadillos in contrast, will only grow up to 6 in, or 15 cm long.