TABLE OF CONTENTS - National Zoo

LONG-NOSED ARMADILLO
(Dasypus novemcinctus)
Specialized Carnivore (Insectivore)
Description: The skin of the armadillo is remarkably modified to provide a doublelayered
covering of horn and bone over most of the upper surface and sides of the
animals, and some protection to the underparts and limbs. The covering consists of
bands or plates, connected or surrounded by flexible skin. The long-nosed armadillo,
often referred to as the 9-banded armadillo, actually usually has 8 bands in the
northern and southern parts of its range, and 9 in the central part of the range. The
top of the head has a shield, and the tail is usually encased by bony rings or plates.
The body is mottled brownish and yellowish white.
Teeth: The skull is flattened, and the lower jaw is elongate. Armadillos have no
incisors or canines in either jaw. The teeth are small, peglike, ever growing, and
numerous. They have between 7-25 cheek teeth, the premolars and molars are
indistinguishable. The total number of teeth ranges from 28-100.
Range: South-central and southeastern United States to Peru and northern
Argentina, Grenada in the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad, and Tobago.
Habitat: Long-nosed armadillos are partial to dense shady cover and limestone
formations, from sea level to 3,000 meters elevation.
Diet: They feed on mostly on insects (beetles and ants) and other invertebrates.
Social Organization: They travel singly, in pairs, or occasionally in small bands. They
are terrestrial in habit, powerful diggers and scratchers, and mainly nocturnal. When
not active they usually live in underground burrows. Armadillos generally give birth
to several identical young produced from a single ovum. The young are covered with
a soft, leathery skin, which gradually hardens with age.
Sources: Lavies, Bianca. It’s an Armadillo! New York: E. P. Dutton, 1989.
Nowak, Ronald M. and John L. Paradiso. Walker’s Mammals of the World. 4th
edition, Volume I. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. Pages
460-461, 466-467.
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