There are many species of armadillos that are endangered and/or threatened. This is due to many different reasons including human encroachment, slash and burn farming, and hunting. Deaths due to domestic dogs also account for a large percentage of the problem. There are about twenty different species of armadillos. Of these twenty different species, only one appears to be increasing in number. This species is known as the nine banded armadillo.

Within the last hundred years, the nine banded armadillo has expanded its home range northward into the United States and has moved as far west as Colorado and as far north as Illinois. There have even been the occasional sightings of them even farther north. Cold weather will eventually put an end to the spread of armadillos as they cannot tolerate even relatively short periods of extreme cold, although they are equipped with large fat reserves that help them insulate their bodies. Species such as the giant armadillo are featured on the endangered species list and are in grave danger of reaching extinction.

Armadillos are mammals that have a backbone, therefore they are vertebrates. Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates that are equipped with backbones or spinal columns. Vertebrates are also the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include jawless fish, bony fish, sharks, rays, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Invertebrates are animals without a backbone. This group consists of 97% of all animal species, except for those who are vertebrates. Invertebrates form a paraphletic group. Given a common multicellular, eukaryotic ancestor, all contained phyla are invertebrates along with two to three subphyla in Phylum Chordata, Tunicata and Cephalochordata.

Armadillos being that they are vertebrates are equipped with armor. This armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales that are called “scutes”. These scutes are composed of bone with a covering of horn. In most species of armadillos, rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin cover the back and flanks of the creature. Additional armor covers the top of the creature’s head, the upper parts of the limbs as well as the tail. The underside of the armadillo is never armored, and is instead simply covered with a soft skin and fur.

The armadillo’s armor-like skin appears to be its main defense, although most have also been known to escape from their predators by fleeing or digging to safety. Only the South American three-banded armadillo is known to rely heavily upon their armor for protection.

Typically it is rare for an armadillo to bite. These creatures have no enamel (hard outer covering of the tooth). They also have very few teeth. Rather, they have just a few peg shaped molars in the back of their mouths. Since they primarily feast upon insects, they are not required to do a lot of chewing, and making big strong teeth would be a waste of energy.

Armadillos have lost all of their molars over time and their teeth as mentioned before, remain peg shaped. They lack incisors and canine teeth as their diets consist of bugs, soft plants and decaying meat, they are not required to shred or tear meat. Therefore they do not pack a very hard bite, and in most cases if an armadillo were to bite a human it would not be very painful unless you have a very low pain tolerance.

When feeling threatened, rather than biting these creatures would be more likely to jump in the air to try and startle their predator and then try and sneak away as quickly as possible by running or digging itself away to freedom. They are very good at burrowing when in danger, and they have also been known to play dead to try and get predators to ignore them.

Armadillos are born covered by a soft skin that gradually begins to harden into a shell as they grow up. When these creatures are born, they are well developed and have open eyes and are able to walk within just a few hours.

The main trait of armadillos are their bony shells made up of hard bony plates. These plates form protective rigid shields over their hips and shoulders and are joined by a number of flexible bands in the middle part of the body. They use these shells in defense to protect themselves against their prey.

Armadillos are not known to be poisonous. However armadillo bites to a bug or snail can be quite painful and even deadly. Typically, when it comes to anything bigger like humans however, armadillo bites are not really painful or much to even worry about. An armadillo’s teeth are located at the back of its mouth. It is one of the few animals that is able to contract the disease leprosy.

Something that most people do not realize about armadillos is that they are very resilient creatures who are not easy to deter. These little guys pay little heed to repellents and the like, and the only solution for getting rid of an armadillo problem in your yard or garden, etc. is to trap the armadillo in a cage. It is a myth that armadillos or their shells are poisonous. It is also a myth that they can secrete a type of poison from their skin or shells. No one is really sure how this myth may have come about to begin with, but in any case it is completely irrelevant.

Armadillos are virtually harmless in the physical sense. They do not typically attack humans. They are most likely to destroy your landscaping, etc. so if you have an armadillo problem in your yard it is important to take care of it immediately. Since these creatures burrow, they have often destroyed landscaping, foundations, etc. and caused some permanent damage that can be costly to fix.