LEAST CONCERN
SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO
EUPHRACTUS SEXCINCTUS
Six-Banded Armadillos are native to South American grasslands, forestsand savannahs. Armadillos are excellent diggers, digging U-shaped burrows with a single opening, often in the search for food. Armadillos are omnivores, with their diet primarily consisting of insects and small invertebrates, but also including anything else they can find like plants and carrion.
An armadillos carapace is made of bony plates called the osteoderm, covered in overlapping scales called scutes, made of keratin. Unlike other armadillos, Six-Banded Armadillos cannot roll up into a ball.
HABITAT
Six-banded armadillos inhabits diverse, primarily dry, open habitats across South America, including savannahs, grasslands, cerrado, and dry forests.
They prefer areas with sandy or loose soil suitable for digging complex burrows for shelter.
DIET
Six-banded armadillos are opportunistic omnivores and scavengers with a varied diet consisting of fruits, tubers, palm nuts, insects, termites, ants, and small vertebrates.
They rely on their keen sense of smell to forage for food, including carrion.
BEHAVIOUR
Unlike other armadillos, six-banded armadillos are unable to roll into a ball. Instead, they flee into burrows to escape predators.
The are predominantly a diurnal and solitary armadillo, spending the majority of their time digging for food and dens.
They have poor eyesight and hearing, relying primarily on their sense of smell to survive and detect both prey and predators.
THREATS
Six-banded armadillos are Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Although classified as Least Concern, armadillos face a number of threats, including illegal hunting, habitat loss, persecution as agricultural pests and traffic collisions.