In Ecuador there are 5 species of armadillos of which are the following: Nine-Banded Armadillos The most common armadillo of all and its place of origin is the coast. Western bare-tailed armadillo is so named for having the tail missing part of the shell. Eastern naked-tailed armadillo is identical to the previous armadillo except that it lives in the Amazon and not on the coast. Giant Armadillo: This is the most impressive armadillo due to its large size for its species as well as its characteristic giant claw in the center of its front legs. Larger long-nosed armadillo: It is characterized more than anything by its large nose since for the rest it has 9 bands like the 9-band armadillo, also this one is bigger than that one but it lives in the Amazon.
Different species of armadillos with their images
Amazonian and coastal naked-tailed armadillo
Long nosed armadillo
NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO Description and Habitat The 9-banded armadillo is the most common of the armadillo family, but it lives in only one coastal province, which is El Oro, but in addition to that, it lives throughout the mountains and in minimal parts of the Amazon between Morona Santiago and Sucumbios. , the province of the Sierra in which they are most abundant is Loja. Diet Their main diet is insects but despite the insects they also feed on nuts and fruits found on the ground in their habitat. Its size is from 38 cm to 140 cm as maximum size, its weight is varied from a kilo of weight to 2 kilos. Characteristics The main characteristic of these armadillos is the same as their name since they have a row of 9 bands on their shell. Growth and childhood These live in small burrows that they build after separating from their mother and being able to live alone without the need of their mother.
The Giant Armadillo.
The Giant Armadillo is the largest of its kind in Ecuador, it lives entirely in the mountains scattered throughout each of its provinces Diet: It feeds on ants and some termites which it finds digging in the various burrows. The burrows where this type of armadillo live, these are much larger than those of their cousins of other species, these burrows measure between 36 and 43 cm high. These animals have a sexual dimorphism which is that males are larger and heavier than females. Characteristics One of the greatest characteristics of these armadillos, in addition to surpassing all species of armadillos in size, they have 4 claws on their fingers, the third was the largest of all with a size of 15 cm, since they were small they have this great claw . Maturity and childhood These animals have a very peculiar stage of offspring which is that the offspring are with their mothers from birth until they are 5 or 6 months old, scientists say that they are expected from their mothers at 7 or 8 months to be able to live alone. These armadillos have no natural predators as there are no large predators in the Sierra, the only predators are humans which we hunt to use their shells as ornaments and their meat to prepare exotic food dishes to sell at inflated and gigantic prices.