Armadillo quads on camera

Texas' official small mammal, the armadillo, has many fascinating traits. First, its name means "little armored one" in Spanish, referencing its bony, keratin-covered shell. There are 21 known species, ranging from the tiny pink fairy armadillo to the giant armadillo, with the nine-banded variety being the only species native to the US. Armadillos have unique reproductive habits: they give birth to identical quadruplets, with each pup born fully formed and with eyes open.

Contrary to popular belief, only two species can roll into a ball. However, they are skilled swimmers, even with their heavy shells. They can hold their breath for up to six minutes and inflate their stomachs with air to aid buoyancy. Lazy armadillos sleep up to 16 hours a day, possibly due to their lack of hair, which makes regulating body temperature difficult.

Their ancestors were glyptodonts—dinosaurs weighing one to two tons. Armadillos are also known to carry leprosy, or Hansen's Disease, which was likely transmitted by 15th-century explorers.

Sources:

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/armadillos
• https://a-z-animals.com/animals/giant-armadillo/
• https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/texas-junior-naturalists/watching-wildlife/nine-banded-armadillo#:~:text=(Dasypus%20novemcinctus%20Linnaeus),and%20provides%20protects%20from%20predators.
• https://www.livescience.com/52390-armadillos.html
• https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/texas-junior-naturalists/watching-wildlife/nine-banded-armadillo#:~:text=(Dasypus%20novemcinctus%20Linnaeus),and%20provides%20protects%20from%20predators.
• https://www.treehugger.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-armadillos-4869732#citation-4
• https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dasypus_novemcinctus/
• https://www.amnh.org/about/press-center/mysterious-extinct-glyptodonts-are-actually-gigantic-armadillos
• https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0002544