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Nine-banded Armadillo
- Length
- 30 inches.
- Description
- Body covered by a bony shell, consisting of two larger portions connected in the middle by eight bony rings (nine on the sides), which hinge one to the other so as to permit of the animal rolling itself into a ball. Front of the head, fore-feet and tail similarly armoured, toes of fore-feet with large claws for digging. Colour brownish-black above, somewhat varied with yellow, below yellowish white, skin on sides of face flesh colour with a few scattered yellow hairs.
- Range
- Southern Texas and Mexico southward to Paraguay.
Also known as Peba Armadillo, Mulita.
Covered from end to end with his bony armament the armadillo at once recalls the box tortoise; and his sudden transformation, when harassed, into a round ball of horny plates reminds one not a little of the snapping shut of the shell of the turtle.
The armadillo is an habitual digger, making his burrows in the dry soil of the arid regions in which he lives and venturing forth mainly by night. In the matter of food he is not particular, vegetable and animal matter both appear on his bill of fare and carrion forms no small part of his diet, while the insects and maggots which it attracts are not overlooked.
The range of the armadillo within our borders is restricted and he is really more of a Mexican than an American, being one of a number of curious animals that push their way over our south-western boundary from that interesting country.
CETACEANS