Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Armadillo


We just learned a little about the Manatee.

Armadillos are tough little armored animals!

The name armadillo is Spanish for little armored one.
Their armor is made up of bone, covered up in scutes,
like the scutes on a turtle shell.

nine banded armadillo
(from: wikipedia - armadillo)

Some armadillos can roll up in a ball to protect themselves.
south american armadillo curled up
(from: wikipedia - southern three banded armadillo)

Armadillos come in all shapes and sizes, from the pink fairy armadillo
which could fit in the palm of your hand:
pink fairy armadillo
(from: wikipedia - pink fairy armadillo)

To the giant armadillo, which is the size of a pig!
giant armadillo
(from: wikipedia - giant armadillo)

Another interesting thing is that when the nine-banded armadillo has babies,
it always has identical quadruplets!

Four baby armadillos that are exactly the same, every time!