Species Fact Profile: Southern Three-Banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus)

                                  Southern (La Plata) Three-Banded Armadillo

                                                Tolypeutes matacus (Desmarest, 1804)

Range: North-central Argentina, east-central Bolivia, and parts of Brazil and Paraguay

Habitat:  Grasslands, Savannah, Dry Forest, Wetlands, up to 800 meters elevation

Diet: Insects (especially ants, termites, and beetle larvae)

Social Grouping: Primarily solitary, but may form groups in cold to huddle together for warmth (up to 12 together).  Males and females have overlapping home ranges

Reproduction:  Young have been reported throughout the year, but with a peak from November through January.  Single offspring born after 120-day gestation.  Only mother participates in raising the young.  Young are born blind, but fully formed and develop quickly.  They are able to walk, close up their shell shortly after birth.  Independent as young as 72 days, though young may stay in mother’s home range for a time.  Sexually mature at 9-12 months old

Lifespan: 20-25 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Near Threatened

• Body length approximately 22-30 centimeters with an additional 6-8 centimeters of tail (stout, immobile).  Weigh 1-1.6 kilograms.  Forefeet have four separate claws; hind feet have one separate, thick claw and three that are grown together, resembling a hoof.
• Typically, a yellowish-brown color
• Back is covered with a thick, leathery shell of keratin, segmented into three bands (usually – some individuals may possess two bands, others four).  Unique among most armadillos (a trait shared only by the Brazilian three-banded armadillo), this species can roll into a ball, with the shell completely enclosing the body (a small gap can forcefully snap shut on the paw – or hand – of any predator that tries to reach inside).  They are able to do this because the front and rear portions of the shell are not attached to the skin on the sides, providing greater flexibility. 
• The shell can also trap air which is then warmed by the body, reducing heat loss
• Shell is primary anti-predator mechanism, and a largely effective one.  Predators include wild canids and felids, as well as raptors
• Penis of the male is one of the longest in proportion of body size of any mammal, up to 2/3 the body length (has to be long to extend past the female’s shell to the vaginal opening)
• Primarily nocturnal, but active by day during colder weather, and younger armadillos may be more diurnal to avoid nocturnal predators
• Poor eyesight, primarily use sense of smell to find food, identify one another, and determine readiness to mate
• Do not dig their own burrows, instead using abandoned anteater burrows; may also take shelter in dense vegetation (perhaps not being as much of a digger as other species because of its more sophisticated shell defenses)
• Habitat destruction is main threat (no longer present in Buenos Aires province in Argentina, for example) but able to tolerate some habitat modification, subsist on cultivated land
• Hunted locally for food (non-fossorial nature makes it easier to catch than other armadillos).  Shell is sometimes used in handicrafts.  Also some capture for sale in the pet trade.  Vulnerable to overexploitation due to slow reproductive rate