Nine-Banded Armadillo, filmed in St. Petersburg, Florida
Armadillos are prehistoric-looking animals that belong to a family of mammals found primarily in Central and South America. The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus), named for the nine breaks in the creature's leathery armor that allow it to flex its stiff hide, is an odd-looking mammal about the size of a cat.
Armadillos like forested or semi-open habitats with loose textured soil that allows them to dig easily. They eat many insects, or other invertebrates, and some plants. They most often feed at night, and have very poor eyesight.
Armadillos dig burrows for homes or to escape predators, and a single armadillo can have several different burrows with multiple entrances. A mature armadillo is 15 to 17 inches long (not counting the tail) with a weight of eight to 17 pounds. Pregnant females always give birth to identical quadruplets. She produces one egg that splits into four identical offspring that are either all female or all male. This trait differs from most other mammals.
Armadillos are fascinating in other respects. When they need to cross narrow water bodies, they often walk on the bottom under water. If it is a wide body of water, they will inflate their stomach to twice its normal size, allowing for enough buoyancy to swim across. When startled, armadillos often leap high into the air, and then run quickly to a nearby burrow.
This species occurs in Texas and east, throughout the South. It occasionally is found in Missouri and South Carolina. However, cold weather limits the northern boundary of the armadillo's range. Armadillos were not always present in Florida. During the past century, they expanded their range from Texas into the Florida panhandle. From 1920 to about 1970, there were several introductions of armadillos into the Atlantic coast region of Florida. Then the panhandle and peninsular populations expanded until they merged. Armadillos are now found in uplands throughout Florida, except in the Keys and parts of the Everglades and Big Cypress swamp.
Other animals typical of this area include:
Mammals: Raccoon, Opossum, Armadillo, Skunk, Moles, Shrews,
Hog, Mice, Rats, Pocket Gopher, Squirrel, Mink, Pig, Rabbit,
Reptiles and Amphibians:
Lizard, Alligator, American Crocodile, Frogs, Toads, Gopher Tortoise, Freshwater Turtle, Eastern Indigo Snake, Eastern Coachwhip, Coral Snake, Black Racer Snake, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Canebreak Rattlesnake
Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake, Southern Copperhead, Burmese Python, Brahminy Blind Snake, Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin),
Red Rat Snake, Eastern Hognose Snake, Rough Green Snake, Garter Snake, Mud Snake, Banded Water Snake, Brown Water Snake, Pine Snake, Salt Marsh Snake, Florida Scarlet Snake, Striped Crayfish Snake, Swamp Snake, Pine Woods Snake, Ringneck Snake, Brown Snake, Scarlet Kingsnake, Crowned Snake
Birds: Osprey, Bald Eagle, Owls, Raptors, Falcon, Kestrel, Crested Caracara, Swallow-Tailed Kite, Woodpecker, Anhinga, Double-Crested Cormorant, Red-Tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Brown Pelican, White Pelican,White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, American Bittern, Flamingo, Wood Stork, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Green Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Waterfowl, Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers, Cranes, Rails, Turkey, Quail, Crows, Jays, Pigeons, Doves, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Thrashers, Thrushes, Warblers, Sparrows, Blackbirds, Cowbirds, Grackles Orioles, Hummingbirds, Shrikes, Vireos, Swallows, Swifts, Martins, Kingfishers
Invertebrates: Butterfly, Dragon Fly, Crabs, Snail, Jellyfish, Scallop, Caterpillar
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