The head shield is oval and is not expanded between the eyes. The plates on the tail are closely set and are not arranged in rows. The claws of the forefeet are powerful, and the claw on the third finger measures about 203 mm along the curve. The giant armadillo is so much larger than other armadillos that size alone serves to distinguish adults. It occasionally possesses as many as 100 small teeth, but these are shed as the animal ages.
Females have two mammae.
The giant armadillo is a powerful and rapid digger and shelters in burrows of its own construction. It has been reported to occur primarily in unbroken, relatively undisturbed forest and usually near water. Nearly half of these burrows were located in active termite mounds. The average distance to the woods for burrows located in grassland or brushland was 192 meters. Burrows averaged 41 cm in width and 31 cm in height.