Armadillos for Dummies! Trivia Quiz

Answer: no

Armadillos range in size from the endangered little "pink fairy armadillo", weighing in at 85 g (3 oz), to the whopping "giant armadillo", which can weigh about the same as a small pig (54 kg, or 120 lbs).

Those who eat armadillo describe the flavor as being very similar to pork. I find it refreshing that they don't say it "tastes like chicken!" However it tastes, this is one meat that is extremely unsafe to eat fashionably rare.

Answer: They migrated using the Isthmus of Panama

During the Pleistocene era, the nine-banded armadillo migrated into North America via the Isthmus of Panama. Because their armor is so effective the animal is rarely threatened by predators, so the armadillo's North American range is constantly expanding. All extant species of armadillo are still found in South America.

Perhaps they'll even make it to sunny California someday, but they don't do well in cold weather, so getting over the Rocky Mountains could be a problem. Even short periods of cold weather can kill an armadillo.

Answer: To dig for food and to dig dens

An armadillo's diet consists mostly of insects which it digs out of the ground. Some species are picky eaters, and only go for ants and termites, but most will also eat fruits and veggies, small vertebrates, and carrion. Armadillos dig snug burrows, only as wide as the width of their bodies, since the solitary animals don't bunk up together.

The armadillo's burrowing habits land it firmly in the "destructive pests" category. Their search for food leaves behind holes and mounds on lawns and can even kill young orchard trees. Solutions range from calling in a professional exterminator or trapper (best bait to trap them with is earthworms), to home remedies such as mixing equal parts ammonia and human pee, adding red pepper flakes, and sprinkling it all over your yard. This mixture also repels visitors and attracts social workers.

Answer: Spanish

Armadillos have a leathery shell consisting of overlapping, dermal-bone scales called scutes. It serves the same purpose as plate armor worn by medieval knights, except knights couldn't roll up inside their armor to present an impregnable ball to the enemy! Not all armadillos can roll themselves up; only one species, the South American three-banded armadillo, can actually perform that cartoon trick.

Answer: Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy

The armadillo's low body temperature (34 °C (93 °F)) provides the perfect environment for the leprosy bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae. It is possible to contract leprosy from eating armadillo meat or handling the animals.

Armadillos can also be a host for Chagas disease. Many now believe that the symptoms that tormented Charles Darwin were due to Chagas disease; he did not contract it from an armadillo, but from the more usual source: a "kissing bug".

Answer: They swallow air

Because of the heavy shell, an armadillo would sink unless it could do something to increase its buoyancy. The animal swallows air, inflating its stomach to twice normal size. This allows the armadillo to swim across small streams and ponds. They can also stay completely submerged for up to six minutes.

Answer: Giving birth to four identical young

In other words, four monozygotic young! Most armadillos give birth to from one to eight young, but armadillos of the genus Dasypus usually give birth to a litter of four genetically identical young. This is also a boon to research scientists who need to use identical test animals for certain experiments.

The Smith quads were born in Kinsale, Ireland in 1750, and didn't have a chance to hear The Who's "QUADrophenia".

Answer: A ten-stringed Andean musical instrument, called the 'charango'

The back of the charango was traditionally made from a dried armadillo shell, the front and neck from wood. Now the entire guitar-shaped instrument is made from wood, which produces a better tone. The five pairs of strings are tuned in the "my dog has fleas" ukelele style, with an additional pair of E strings (GCEAE).

You may wonder about the sweet music made by live armadillos. Depending on the species, they can produce soft hissing noises, grunts, snarls, and screams. The "screaming hairy armadillo" makes a very loud noise that sounds like a cross between a duck's quack and a pig's squeal.

Answer: The only spot not covered in armor is on their undersides

Armadillos are only armored on top; underneath, the skin is soft and covered with fur.

Smaug, the dragon from J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit", is armored in dragon scales above, and with an incrustation of jewels below... except for one small patch, not as wide as a church door, but large enough to accommodate the arrow that kills him!

Answer: They jump up when startled instead of sideways

Armadillos have a keen sense of smell, but they can't see very well. So there they are, walking across the highway, and suddenly the Peterbilt they didn't see coming is right on top of them. The armadillo jumps... not sideways, but straight up... and now it's part of the truck's undercarriage. By the time it falls off it's a bit worse for wear, and then all those wheels... oh, the humanity!

This penchant for getting squished by motor vehicles has earned the armadillo a cruel, but hilarious, nickname: "Hillbilly Speed Bump!"