Armadillos are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. Nine extinct genera and 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor. All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of different environments.
Xenarthra is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and armadillos. Extinct xenarthrans include the glyptodonts, pampatheres and ground sloths. Xenarthrans originated in South America during the Paleocene about 59 million years ago. They evolved and diversified extensively in South America during the continent's long period of isolation in the early to mid Cenozoic Era. They spread to the Antilles by the early Miocene and, starting about 3 Mya, spread to Central and North America as part of the Great American Interchange. Nearly all of the formerly abundant megafaunal xenarthrans became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene.
Dasypodidae is a family of mostly extinct genera of armadillos. One genus, Dasypus, is extant, with at least seven living species.
The pink fairy armadillo or pichiciego is the smallest species of armadillo, first described by Richard Harlan in 1825. This solitary, desert-adapted animal is endemic to central Argentina and can be found inhabiting sandy plains, dunes, and scrubby grasslands.
Glyptodonts are an extinct subfamily of large, heavily armoured armadillos. They arose in South America around 20 million years ago and spread to southern North America after the continents became connected several million years ago. The best-known genus within the group is Glyptodon.
Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, is an order of armored New World placental mammals. Dasypodids and chlamyphorids, the armadillos, are the only surviving families in the order. Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant armadillos existed until recently: pampatheriids, which reached weights of up to 200 kg (440 lb) and chlamyphorid glyptodonts, which attained masses of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) or more.
The six-banded armadillo, also known as the yellow armadillo, is an armadillo found in South America. The sole extant member of its genus, it was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The six-banded armadillo is typically between 40 and 50 centimeters in head-and-body length, and weighs 3.2 to 6.5 kilograms. The carapace is pale yellow to reddish brown, marked by scales of equal length, and scantily covered by buff to white bristle-like hairs. The forefeet have five distinct toes, each with moderately developed claws.
The order Pilosa is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths. The name comes from the Latin word for "hairy".
The Andean hairy armadillo is an armadillo found mainly in Bolivia, in the region of the Puna; the departments of Oruro, La Paz, and Cochabamba. Nowark (1991) describes it as distributed in Bolivia and northern Chile. A recent publication of Pacheco (1995) also locates the species in the Puno Region of Peru. This species is also thought to be present in northern Argentina. However, this location may actually only contain a population of C. vellerosus.
Cabassous is a genus of South and Central American armadillos. The name is the Latinised form of the Kalini word for "armadillo".
The screaming hairy armadillo is a species of armadillo also known as the small screaming armadillo, crying armadillo or the small hairy armadillo. It is a burrowing armadillo found in the central and southern parts of South America. The adjective "screaming" derives from its habit of squealing when handled.
The big hairy armadillo or large hairy armadillo is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America. It lives from sea level to altitudes of up to 1,300 meters across the southern portion of South America, and can be found in grasslands, forests, and savannahs, and has even started claiming agricultural areas as its home. It is an accomplished digger and spends most of its time below ground. It makes both temporary and long-term burrows, depending on its food source. The armadillo can use specially evolved membranes in its nose to obtain oxygen from the surrounding soil particles without inhaling any of the soil itself. Armadillos are protected from predators by a series of thin, bony plates along the head and back. They reach sexual maturity at around 9 months and have been known to live over 30 years in captivity. Though this animal is routinely harvested for its meat and its shell, or simply killed for pestering farmers, it has shown amazing resiliency, and populations seem to be handling this exploitation well. Currently, no protective practices are in place for this armadillo, but it does live in many protected areas. This species of armadillo is a preferred research animal due to its adaptability to laboratory settings, and relative hardiness in situations of stress.
The greater fairy armadillo, also known as Burmeister's armadillo or the Chacoan fairy armadillo, is a species of armadillo in the family Chlamyphoridae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss and persecution. It is the only species in the genus Calyptophractus.
The hairy long-nosed armadillo or woolly armadillo is a species of armadillo in the family Dasypodidae. It is endemic to Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The International Union for Conservation of Nature used to consider it a "vulnerable species" but has changed this assessment to "data deficient" because so little is known about the animal and the threats it faces.
Tolypeutinae is a subfamily of armadillos in the family Chlamyphoridae, consisting of the giant, three-banded and naked-tailed armadillos.
Euphractinae is an armadillo subfamily in the family Chlamyphoridae.
Chlamyphoridae is a family of cingulate mammals. While glyptodonts have traditionally been considered stem-group cingulates outside the group that contains modern armadillos, there had been speculation that the extant family Dasypodidae could be paraphyletic based on morphological evidence. In 2016, an analysis of Doedicurus mtDNA found it was, in fact, nested within the modern armadillos as the sister group of a clade consisting of Chlamyphorinae and Tolypeutinae. For this reason, all extant armadillos but Dasypus were relocated to a new family.
Chlamyphorinae is a subfamily of South American armadillos in the family Chlamyphoridae. Members of this subfamily, the fairy armadillos, are largely fossorial and have reduced eyes and robust forearms with large claws for digging.
