page_title: Six-banded armadillo
section_title: Taxonomy and etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Six-banded armadillo / Taxonomy and etymology
caption_attribution_description: Six banded Armadillo Euphractus sexcinctus
context_page_description: The six-banded armadillo, also known as the yellow armadillo, is an armadillo found in South America. The sole extant member of its genus, it was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The six-banded armadillo is typically between 40 and 50 centimeters in head-and-body length, and weighs 3.2 to 6.5 kilograms. The carapace is pale yellow to reddish brown, marked by scales of equal length, and scantily covered by buff to white bristle-like hairs. The forefeet have five distinct toes, each with moderately developed claws.
  Six-banded armadillos are efficient diggers and form burrows to live in and search for prey. The armadillo is alert and primarily solitary. An omnivore, it feeds on insects, ants, carrion, and plant material. Due to their poor eyesight, armadillos rely on their sense of smell to detect prey and predators. Births take place throughout the year; gestation is 60 to 64 days long, after which a litter of one to three is born. Weaning occurs at one month, and juveniles mature by nine months. The six-banded armadillo inhabits savannas, primary and secondary forests, cerrados, shrublands, and deciduous forests.
context_section_description: The six-banded armadillo is the sole member of the genus Euphractus and is placed in the family Chlamyphoridae. It was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus as Dasypus sexcinctus in 1758. The genera Chaetophractus (hairy armadillos) and Zaedyus (pichi) have at times been included in Euphractus, though karyotypical, immunological and morphological analyses oppose this. Fossil Euphractus excavated in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais (Brazil) and Tarija (Bolivia) date back to the Pleistocene.
  The following five subspecies are recognized:
  E. s. boliviae Thomas, 1907: Occurs in Gran Chaco (Brazil).
  E. s. flavimanus Desmarest, 1804: Occurs in Mato Grosso (Brazil), eastern Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina.
  E. s. setosus Wied, 1826: Occurs in extreme southeastern Brazil.
  E. s. sexcinctus Linnaeus, 1758: Occurs in southeastern Brazil.
  E. s. tucumanus Thomas, 1911: Occurs in Catamarca and Tucumán Provinces (Argentina).
  A 2006 morphological study of the phylogeny of armadillos showed that Chaetophractus, Chlamyphorus, Euphractus and Zaedyus form a monophyletic clade. The cladogram below (based only on the extant species) is based on this study.
  However, a mitochondrial DNA investigation has concluded that Chlamyphorinae (fairy armadillos) is the sister group of Tolypeutinae (giant, three-banded and naked-tailed armadillos), with Euphractinae (hairy, six-banded and pichi armadillos) having diverged earlier.
  The six-banded armadillo differs from others in the subfamily Euphractinae, which also contains the pichi and hairy armadillos, in having a narrow head and six to seven movable bands on the carapace (the hard shell on the back). Other names for this armadillo are tatu peludo and tatu peba (in Portuguese), and 'yellow armadillo'.
caption: Drawing of the six-banded armadillo
exif: {}