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The battleship is a very ancient and rather strange mammal, preserved since the time when dinosaurs inhabited the Earth. It used to be that an animal wearing such a tough durable shell was the closest relative of the common tortoise, but then zoologists changed their minds. Now the battleships are ranked among the same order of placental mammals, which includes sloths and anteaters.
In total, the Earth is inhabited by 20 species of these ancient animals. They are very similar to each other, differing from each other only in their habitat, size, lifestyle and other minor details.
Description
The ancestors of armadillos ran around the Earth 55 million years ago. It was a huge heavyweight creature, inducing fear and horror to rivals. At the present time they have become smaller and smaller. For a long time, local residents assigned the name “armadillo” to animals, which means “he who wears armor”.
Strong shell first and striking when you look at these animals.It serves as a defense against harsh predators and helps the armadillos to climb over thorny shrubs without damaging the body. The shell is formed from skin ossifications, it is a plump plate, covered from the outside with keratinized epidermis. Strong and wide shields cover the shoulder area and thigh areas, located in 3 belts. Between themselves, they are connected by a soft cloth - this makes it possible during periods of danger in the manner of a hedgehog to fold and take the form of a coil. Some species are not curtailed, but simply hid under the paws, clinging tightly to the ground. And no enemy, even having strong teeth and sharp claws, can reach.
The shell is usually painted in the color of the surrounding area, the color varies from yellow to dark brown. There are species wearing pink shells.
The length of the body concealed by the shell is within 80-150 cm, the tail is from 30 to 40 cm, and the weight is 6 kilograms. The muzzle is long and elongated, tubular ears, similar to pork, are next to each other.
Nature has not awarded the battleships good vision - it is very weak. But there is a developed sense of smell and excellent hearing, helping to navigate in space and find prey.
Limbs rather short, but powerful and developed.On the back - five long fingers, clawed, on the front (depending on the type) - from three to five fingers.
Lifestyle
Most of the species prefer to stay awake at night, sleeping during the day. But it also depends on age. For example, young individuals live actively in the morning and even noon time. And with the onset of cold weather can switch to a full day mode.
Animals lead, mostly solitary lives, but sometimes there are couples living together, and sometimes - whole families of armadillos. For the most part, the animals sit or sleep in underground shelters, leaving the surface only at night in order to get food.
By the presence of holes in the ground, it is easily determined that armadillos inhabit this area. In the occupied area, they dig holes at a depth of from half a meter to five with many corridors going in different directions.The animals usually live in dug-out shelters for a short time - the armadillos do not feel attachments to the house, so they may find themselves far away from their former home, find an anthill or a termitary and dig a new shelter next to it, covering it with grass and dry leaves. When it rains and the water falls into the hole, the litter becomes wet, and the battleship changes it to fresh. Often close to the hole you can see a bunch of rotted rotten leaves.
Nutrition
The basis of the diet are insects. First of all, ants of any kind and termites. Pursuing the search for food, the animals slowly walk along the ground, sniffing and raking the ground and foliage.
There are species awarded with powerful claws, with which they destroy stumps with ants and termitaries, and then with the help of a long tongue they collect and send prey to the stomach. Sometimes, at the same time, other individuals eat up 30-35 thousand insects.
Nine-belted battleship refers to those rare species who are not afraid to eat red ants - the so-called "firefighters". He patiently endures pain-giving bites, digging up an anthill and eating larvae.
In the summer, the bristly armadillo eats carnivorous food (insects, frogs, lizards and rodents), and in the winter period it diversifies with plant rations.They love armadillos and fruits (say, persimmon), with pleasure absorbs snakes and lizards. They will not pass by the bird eggs lying in the nest of birds nesting on the ground.
Armadillos reach sexual maturity in the second year of life. In the summer (depending on the habitat and species), it is time for marriage ceremonies and games. Males take care of females for a long time, stubbornly pursue them until they get agreement on relationships.
Most species are ready to breed only once in the whole year. Pregnancy is quite long - 60-64 days. Such a long period is due to the fact that the fetus stops for a while in development. No more than four cubs are born - it depends on the species. Toddlers are born sighted and with very soft shell, hardening with age. Within 15-17 days, the mother feeds the babies with milk (unable to feed, eat the offspring), then they begin to get to the surface and get used to the adult diet.
The enemies
For all its excellent outdoor protection and invulnerability, armadillos, however, have enemies who can cope with the beast.The most important and worst include coyotes, lynxes, cougars, alligators, jaguars and bears. Some species of birds of prey are also dangerous. Representatives of the younger generation are particularly affected - the body is covered with soft, unconsolidated shell, and the small size does not allow to resist the enemy.
Many battleships suffered from ordinary cars. Not even from the fact that the poor animals were under the wheels. The fact is that when frightened, the animal jumps abruptly up. Once under the car, the animal resisted the worked reflex and a considerable amount of armor crashed to the bottom of the car.
Saving Armadillos
People have long been preparing meat dishes from armadillos. And in the 21st century, Hispanics consider meat as a delicacy. Since the animal does not run away from danger, but only hides under armor, it is defenseless to a person. And a lot of animals died due to the fact that they cut down forests. And the farmers destroyed the animals because they dig the ground hard. Six species are listed in the International Red Book.
Species
- Seven one battleship. Loves to live in arid areas, meets in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina.He lives on the surface of the earth, does not like companies and leads a solitary life. This species has many children - up to 8 of them (sometimes 12) of the same sex.
- Southern long-nosed. He lives in South America in Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. He is also not a fan of companies, he is active both day and night, depending on the temperature, weather conditions and the season.
- Kappler battleship. He lives in Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname, Peru and Bolivia. In contrast to the previous species, to a high humidity - digs holes near rivers and marshy areas. It is also solitary, awake at night.
- Hairy. He lives in the south-west of the Andes in Peru, loves woodland and on elevations - up to 3000 meters above sea level.
- Frivolous. Distributed in the western part of Argentina, as well as in the surrounding areas of Bolivia. The smallest of the armadillos is a body length of only 14-16 centimeters, a tail is about 3 centimeters, body weight is only 85-90 grams. Lives among shrubs and cacti thickets or in deserts. It also digs burrows and underground passages, feeds on ants and eats various insect larvae. It rarely comes to the surface, as it is very clumsy and completely helpless.
- Shchitonosny He lives in the savannah bush areas of Paraguay.Also small, the length is 15 centimeters, the tail is short - about 4 centimeters.
- Small bristly. He lives in Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Argentina. It inhabits all types of landscapes - plains with and without shrubs, desert terrain, pastures cultivated by plantation people. Propagated in the fall. During the year there may be several litters. The female goes pregnant up to 75-80 days, two heterosexual children are born. The weight of a newborn is about 110 grams, feeding lasts about 60 days. It becomes sexually mature in the tenth month of life.
- Big bristly. He lives in the highlands (up to 1250 meters) of Argentina and Peru. Prefers grass savannas and pampas. Length - almost half a meter, weight - up to 3 kilograms. Night resident, for the year the female gives birth twice, the pregnancy is about two months. Two children of different sexes are born.
- Dwarf. It inhabits areas from southern to central Argentina. The body is approximately 30 centimeters long, the tail length is 13-15 centimeters. Prefers day life, lives in burrows. Food - worms, ants and invertebrates. In litter up to two children, it becomes sexually mature at the 10th month.
Video: battleship (Cingulata)
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