Nine-banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus

Nine-banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus. Photograph taken in Zihuantanejo, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Nine-banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, is a member of the Dasypodidae family of Armadillos. There are six subspecies of Nine-banded Armadillo, each found in different locations. The Dasypodidae family consists of eight global species, one of which is extinct, all placed into the single Dasypus Genus. The Nine-Banded Armadillo is the state small mammal of Texas, and is known in East Texas as Poor Man’s Pork or Hoover Hog.  The Nine-banded Armadillo is also known as the Common Long-nosed Armadillo and in Mexico as Armadillo Nueve Bandas, Cachicamo and Tatú.

Nine-banded Armadillos are covered by an outer body armor that is made up of bony plates covered in a leathery, keratinous skin. These scales, or osteoderms, provide a hard but flexible covering and are typically rectangular or pentagonal in shape. Their armor covers their back, sides, head, tail, and outside surfaces of their legs. Despite their name, the Nine-banded Armadillo can have 7 to 11 bands on their armor, each separated by a thin layer of skin and hair. Their tail is covered with 12 to 15 rings of scales. The ventral surface of their body and the inner surfaces of their legs have no armored protection and are covered by tough skin and a layer of coarse, pale yellow hair. Their head has a distinct “v” shape and is covered with bony/keratinous scales that do not extend into their ears. They have small peg-like teeth and long, sticky tongues. Their snout is soft and pink in color, resembling a tapering pig snout. They have short legs with four toes on their forefeet and five toes on their hind feet. All of their toes are equipped with strong claws, and their larger middle claws are used for digging. While they possess strong hearing and a keen sense of smell, their eyesight is poor. Nine-banded Armadillos have snout to vent length that average from 38 cm (15 inches) to 43 cm (17 inches); their tails are up to 41 cm (16 inch) in length. They weight between to 4.0 kg (8 lbs 13 oz) and 8.0 kg (17 lbs 10 oz).  They are sexually dimorphic with males being larger than the females. A common misconception is that the Nine-banded Armadillo can roll up into a spherical ball. In reality, only two species of Armadillo, the Southern Three-banded Armadillo, Tolypeutes matacus, and the Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo, Tolypeutes tricinctus, are able to roll up completely.

Nine-banded Armadillos are nocturnal or crepuscular and emerge to forage around dusk. While they are typically solitary, they travel in pairs during the breeding season. They possess a low metabolic rate and maintain a low body temperature with poor thermoregulation, making them best suited for semi tropical environments. While they do not hibernate, they do become less active during cold weather. They make their homes in multiple interconnected underground burrows which are used for nesting, family rearing, storing food, warmth, and avoidance of predation. A single individual will maintain up to twelve burrows within its home range. Each burrow is approximately 20 cm (8 inches) wide at its opening, 2.1 m (7 feet) deep, and 7.6 meters (25 feet) long. A burrow is usually only shared by a female and her young or by young siblings, however, male and females may share these burrows during the mating season. Their burrows also provide homes for a wide variety of animals including Mink, Opossums, Owls, Rats, Skunks, and Snakes. Nine-banded Armadillos are typically non-aggressive toward one another, except for breeding males who are territorial and mark their territories with bodily fluids. Nine-banded Armadillos are polygynous, with one male mating with several females in annual cycles. Breeding typically takes place in July and August, when the weather conditions are favorable and it is neither too hot, nor too cold. The females have the ability to store sperm for up to four months to ensure their young are born when food is readily available. Gestation lasts for approximately 4 months and each female produces four identical quadruplets. The young, called pups, are precocial and resemble miniature adults. Parental care is provided by the mother, who nurses her pups for 2 to 3 months. After 3 months, the pups begin to forage on their own and within 6 months, they depart and pursue life on their own. Sexual maturity is reached at approximately 1 year of age, and they reproduce almost every year for the rest of their lives with each female capable of producing up to fifty-six young during her lifetime. The Nine-banded Armadillos have life spans of seven to twenty year in the wild.

Nine-banded Armadillos are omnivores and consume over 500 different types of food items. The majority, over 90%, of their diet is composed of animal matter such as ants, bees, beetles, cockroaches, grubs, scorpions, snails, spiders, and wasps supplemented with amphibians and reptiles. Their powerful sense of smell allows them to detect invertebrates through up to 20 cm (8 inches) of soil, and their long, sticky tongue helps them to effectively capture and consume their prey. In turn, they are preyed upon by alligators, black bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, jaguars, pumas, large raptors, wolves, and humans. Juveniles are more susceptible to predation than the adults, as their shells with protective armor have not been fully developed. Nine-banded Armadillos are also plagued by parasitic ticks. When threatened, they often freeze and then flee for the nearest burrow. They have the ability to jump 0.9 m (3 feet ) to 1.2 m (4 feet) straight into the air and sprint short distances to safety. Once into their burrows, predators are rarely able to dislodge them. If a burrow is not nearby, they may seek dense thorny underbrush for protection. Nine-banded Armadillos can also escape predators by floating on rivers, using the technique of gulping air into their stomach and intestines. They may also avoid predation by sinking and walking across riverbeds, as they can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes at a time. However, they do tire quickly and cannot cross wide bodies of water.

The range of the Nine-banded Armadillo will continue as long as food and water supplies are available, as they are very adaptable to different habitats. Nine-banded Armadillos are the only armadillo species found in the United States, having crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico in the late 19th century. Their movement northward is limited by the severity of winter weather, and their movement westward is limited by their access to water. Humans have been credited with assistance in this expansion by providing roads, bridges, and railroads for travel and by reducing natural predators. Nine-banded Armadillos inhabit dense, shady woodlands or pine forests and are primarily found in warm and rainy environments that resemble their ancestral home. While they prefer temperatures above 22℃ (72°F), they can survive cold winters in their burrows. However, they cannot survive in regions where the temperatures are below -2℃ (28℉). They are an easily adaptable animal and therefore can thrive in any region such as open prairies, scrublands, and rainforests. They prefer sandy or loamy soil, as it can be easily excavated.

The Nine-banded Armadillo may be confused with the Greater Long-nosed Armadillo, Dasypus kappleri (7 or 8 ossified bands on their armor and transverse rows of enlarged, projecting scales on the posterior side of their rear legs).

From a conservation perspective, the Nine-banded Armadillo is considered to be of Least Concern due to their wide distribution, presumed large population size, and tolerance of habitat alteration. No major threats have been identified for this species. While they are hunted throughout their range, their high rate of reproduction seems to allow them to withstand a reasonably high degree of predation. In North America they are subject to culling, as they are often considered a nuisance.