The head and tail are flattened, allowing it to squeeze into rock crevices. Dark brown infusions on the back are not uncommon. Dorsal color is usually consistent, sometimes having an orange to olive tint on the sides. The body color is a dirty yellowish brown to straw color. The tail is equal to or slightly shorter than the body length. The average snout-vent length is between 75 and 90 mm, with a maximum snout-vent length of 105 mm. Males grow to be larger than females and have more prominent femoral pores. This position protects the soft underside of the lizard, which is its most vulnerable area. Rows of spiny osteodermate scales covering the neck, body, tail, and limbs deter predators from seizing or swallowing these lizards. When threatened, they curl up, grip the tail in their jaws, and form a tight, armored ball, resembling an armadillo. ( Els, 2008 Patterson, 1987)Īrmadillo lizards are named for their appearance when in a defensive position. These lizards inhabit large cracks in rocky outcrops. This habitat is characterized by sparse vegetation dominated by dwarf, perennial shrubs. ( Branch, 1998 Els, 2008 Patterson, 1987 Shuttleworth, 2007)Īrmadillo lizards inhabit karroid veld, a vegetation type that is normally found in the semi-desert Karoo region of South Africa. In addition to bugs, armadillos eat small vertebrates, plants, and some fruit, as well as the occassional carrion meal.Cordylus cataphractus (armadillo lizard or armadillo girdled lizard) is found along the west coast of South Africa, from the Orange River in the north (Little Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province) to the Piketberg Mountains in the south, and as far inland as Matjiesfontein in the western Karoo Basin. Strong legs and huge front claws are used for digging, and long, sticky tongues for extracting ants and termites from their tunnels. They have very poor eyesight, and utilize their keen sense of smell to hunt. Most species dig burrows and sleep prolifically, up to 16 hours per day, foraging in the early morning and evening for beetles, ants, termites, and other insects. Because of their low metabolic rate and lack of fat stores, cold is their enemy, and spates of intemperate weather can wipe out whole populations. Habitat and DietĪrmadillos live in temperate and warm habitats, including rain forests, grasslands, and semi-deserts. In fact, only the three-banded armadillo can, curling its head and back feet and contorting its shell into a hard ball that confounds would-be predators. Others have black, red, gray, or yellowish coloring.Ĭontrary to popular belief, not all armadillos are able to encase themselves in their shells. They vary widely in size and color, from the 6-inch-long, salmon-colored pink fairy armadillo to the 5-foot-long, dark-brown giant armadillo. Armadillos are the only living mammals that wear such shells.Ĭlosely related to anteaters and sloths, armadillos generally have a pointy or shovel-shaped snout and small eyes. The familiar nine-banded armadillo is the only species that includes the United States in its range.Īrmadillo is a Spanish word meaning “little armored one” and refers to the bony plates that cover the back, head, legs, and tail of most of these odd looking creatures. Of the 20 varieties of armadillo, all but one live in Latin America.
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