Armadillo

ARMADILLOS IN HISTORY

The Glyptodont, an ice age relative of the armadillo, was the size of a small car. The Glyptodont became extinct about 10,000 years ago.

The Aztecs called armadillos āyōtōchtli, meaning "turtle-rabbits."

During the Great Depression, people ate armadillos and called it "Poor Man's Pork." The Texans called it the “Hoover hog,” in homage to then-president Herbert Hoover.

The official mascot for the soccer World Cup 2014 was an armadillo named Fuleco.

ANATOMY

They vary in size from the giant armadillo, which is almost 1 m (about 3 ft) long excluding the tail, to species only about 15 cm (about 6 in) long when fully grown.

The bony plate that protects the animal against predators is formed by the ossification of the greater part of the skin. In some species even the tail is so protected.

Armadillos are the only living mammals that have shells.

Predators give up on eating an armadillo when they cannot breach its scaled armor or grasp its tapered tail.

Despite short legs, the armadillo moves relatively quickly, and with its strong feet and thick claws it can burrow with considerable speed.

BEHAVIOR 

While digging, an Armadillo can hold its breath for up to six minutes.

An armadillo can walk under water.

Armadillos can jump 3-4 feet in the air when startled 

Armadillos feed on insects, snakes, fruit, and rotting flesh of dead animals.

The large hairy armadillo is the world’s sleepiest animal, averaging 20 hours of sleep a day. The koala seems to sleep around 22 hours a day, but five hours of that is just resting while they digest eucalyptus leaves.

The armadillo is among the most prolific dreamers, judging from their REM sleep patterns.

BREEDING

Armadillos of the genus Dasypus (the only ones found in the US) nearly always give birth to quadruplets of the same sex; they are the only known vertebrate animals to exhibit this "polyembryony."

Young armadillos are called armadiglets.

FUN ARMADILLO FACTS

An armadillo can be trained to be housebroken.

Other than humans, only armadillos and squirrels can contract leprosy.

In South America, it is considered taboo to consume the meat of a six-banded armadillo.

Source Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia