Facts about Armadillo Armored Carapace
- 06
Nine-banded armadillos possess carapaces weighing approximately 15 percent of their total body weight, creating significant metabolic demands for movement and locomotion.
- 05
Flexible bands of skin connecting the rigid plates of an armadillo's carapace allow the animal to bend and move despite wearing bony armor.
- 04
Each osteoderm in an armadillo's carapace develops from the skin layer, making the armor dermal bone rather than part of the skeleton.
- 03
Armadillos are the only mammals whose carapace allows some species, like the three-banded armadillo, to roll into a complete ball for protection.
- 02
Unlike most mammals, armadillos can adjust the blood flow through their carapace, helping regulate body temperature in varying environments.
- 01
The armadillo's carapace is composed of bony plates called osteoderms, which are covered by tough keratin-containing skin rather than true shell material.