Colleen Bernhardt, age 12, of Foremost, Alberta, Canada, for her question:
What is the armadillo's family?
His family name is Dasypodidae and the armadillo may be called a dasypodoid. These scientific terms are coined from an older word for "hare" and intended to mean hairy footed. This is odd, because the most remarkable feature of the armadillo's toes are his very capable claws. What's more, he wears armor plating instead of hairy, hare type fur and when it comes to traveling, any hare would leave the stalwart armadillo far behind. Most scientific terms aim to give us a few hints but the family name of the dasypodoids is hard to fathom.
We expect creatures with tough armor plating to be crocodiles, turtles or at least relatives of the reptile class. But the armor plated, warm blooded armadillos give birth to live babies and feed them on mother's milk. Hence, they belong in the Class Mammalia. This most unusual mammal and his relatives are members of the Order Edentata, a term meaning the toothless ones. This is rather peculiar, since the armadillo of North America has 20 to 30 teeth in his long tapering jaws. However, they are extremely flimsy teeth without enamel coatings and no roots to fix them securely in his jaw bones.
One family of edentates includes the toothless anteaters; another includes some sloths. Members of both these families have fur coats. The edentate Family Dysypodidae includes several fairly small mammals native to the New World. Most of them are at home in Central or South America, sharing this territory with their relatives, the sloths and the anteaters. However, sometime in the last century, one armadillo species swam across the Rio Grande river and settled in Texas. Since that time he has extended his range into other regions of the warm, dry southwestern deserts and prairies. The name of his genus is Dasypus which, like his family name, also means "hare" or "hairy footed." His species is novemcictus, hence his signature is Dasypus novemcictus.
His everyday name is the nine banded armadillo, which refers to the nine bands around the place where his waist would be if he had one. The remarkable fellow is built somewhat like a sturdy army tank and he travels close to the ground on four stubby legs fitted with strong claws. His body is about two feet long, plus a rather ratty 12 inch tail. His small head is long and thin and his skinny face is topped with a pair of donkey type ears. His legs and body, his tapering tail and even his face are sheathed in small plates of horny armor. The nine bands around his middle are made of large plates and jointed so that he can turn his body.
Other armadillos with three, six or eleven jointed bands enjoy life in several South American countries. The giant of the family lives in the jungles of Brazil. His armor plated tail is 20 inches long and his three foot long body is jointed with a dozen bands. All armadillos enjoy insect food and use their long, sticky, extendable tongues to capture their victims.
Actually the armor plates are made from hair type material and as a rule a few bristles poke through the cracks. At least two dasypodoid species have shaggy coats. The hairy armadillo of Argentina conceals his armor under long shaggy hair. The pretty little hairy armadillo has rows of shell pink plates along his spine and over his rump. The rest of him is hidden under long silky white fur.