Giant Armadillo

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Giant Armadillo

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cingulata
Family:	Dasypodidae
Subfamily:	Tolypeutinae
Genus:	Priodontes F. Cuvier, 1825
Species:	P. maximus

Binomial name

Priodontes maximus
(Kerr, 1792)

The Giant Armadillo or Tatou (Priodontes maximus) is the largest species of armadillo. It was once found widely in tropical forests of eastern South America and now extends in varied habitats as far south as northern Argentina; the species is considered endangered.

They typically weigh around 27 kg (59 lb) when full grown, and a 32.3 kg (71 lb) specimen has been weighed in the wild. A typical length is 895 mm (35 in), of which a third to two-fifths is likely to be accounted for by the tail.

The Giant Armadillo prefers termites and some ants as prey, and typically consumes the entire population of a termite mound.

The Giant Armadillo was classified as Endangered (EN — A1cd) on the World Conservation Union's Red List in 2002, and is listed under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

[edit] See also

Glyptodon - a huge prehistoric giant armadillo relative.

[edit] References

Cuellar et al (2006). Priodontes maximus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
Gardner, Alfred (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 98. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.