Chaetophractus vellerosus
| Screaming hairy armadillo | |
|---|---|
| Chaetophractus vellerosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cingulata |
| Family: | Chlamyphoridae |
| Genus: | Chaetophractus |
| Species: | C. vellerosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Chaetophractus vellerosus (Gray, 1865) |
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| Screaming hairy armadillo range | |
The screaming hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus) is a species of armadillo also known as the small screaming armadillo, crying armadillo or the small hairy armadillo. It is a burrowing armadillo found in the central and southern parts of South America. The adjective "screaming" derives from its habit of squealing when handled or threatened.
The animal was first described by J. E. Gray in 1865 from a specimen in the British Museum collected from Santa Cruz de la Sierra in eastern Bolivia as Dasypus vellerosus.
This is one of the smallest and most slender species of the genus Chaetophractus, but it has longer ears than others in its genus. The male armadillo has a length ranging from 328 to 400 mm (12.9 to 15.7 in) with an average length of 376 mm (14.8 in), while the length of the female ranges from 265 to 419 mm (10.4 to 16.5 in) with an average length of 368 mm (14.5 in). The male weighs between 543 to 1,329 grams (19.2 to 46.9 oz), with an average of 860 grams (30 oz), while the range of weight for the female is 257 to 1,126 grams (9.1 to 39.7 oz), with average weight as 814 grams (28.7 oz).
The animal was initially described by Gray as follows:
"The forehead convex, with many polygonal shields; the dorsal shield covered with abundant elongated bristly hairs; the underside of the body covered with close hairs. Toes 5/5, the outer and inner hinder small."
These armadillos have more hair growth than other armadillo species. The armadillo has 18 bands of which six to eight are movable bands. The hair on the dorsum is light brown in colour.
Two subspecies of Chaetophractus vellerosus are known but taxonomic confirmation is required:
The screaming hairy armadillo is a burrowing armadillo of arid areas from low to high altitudes. It is found in parts of the Gran Chaco and Pampas areas of Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. An isolated population is found in eastern Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
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Wikipedia