page_title: Six-banded armadillo
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Six-banded armadillo / Description
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Sechsbinden-Gürteltier Euphractus sexcinctus, Schädel, Coll. Museum Wiesbaden English: Six-banded armadillo Euphractus sexcinctus, skull, Coll. Museum Wiesbaden
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 largest in Euphractinae, which also contains the pichi and hairy armadillos; in fact, it is the third largest armadillo after the giant armadillo and the greater long-nosed armadillo. This armadillo is typically between 40 and 50 centimeters (16 and 20 in) in head-and-body length, and weighs 3.2 to 6.5 kilograms (7.1 to 14.3 lb). The carapace is pale yellow to reddish brown (though not a dark shade of brown or black), marked by scales of equal length, and scantily covered by buff to white bristle-like hairs – unlike the hairy armadillos, that are covered by dense hairs. The shell narrows to 70 to 80 percent of its original width towards the top of the head, which is covered by plates arranged in a definite pattern. The forefeet have five distinct toes, each with moderately developed claws, of which the third is the longest.
  Like the other euphractines and the pink fairy armadillo, the six-banded armadillo has a tympanic bulla; the ears are 32 to 47 centimeters (13 to 19 in) long. There are 9 pairs of teeth on the upper jaw and 10 pairs on the lower jaw; the teeth are large and strong and are assisted by strong muscles for chewing. A row of scutes, each 13–19 centimeters (5.1–7.5 in) wide, extends along the back of the neck. The tail, 12–24 centimeters (4.7–9.4 in) long, is covered by two to four bands of plates on the underside. Some of these plates have holes for scent gland secretions, a feature seen in no other armadillo except a few big hairy armadillos.
caption: Skull of a six-banded armadillo
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