The giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), colloquially tatu-canastra, tatou, ocarro or tatú carreta, is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives the glyptodonts were much larger). It lives in South America, ranging throughout as far south as northern Argentina.

Description

thumb|left|150px|Hand anatomy of the giant armadillo

The giant armadillo is the largest living species of armadillo, with 11 to 13 hinged bands protecting the body and a further three or four on the neck.

Giant armadillos typically weigh around when fully grown, however a specimen has been weighed in the wild and captive specimens have been weighed up to . The typical length of the species is , with the tail adding another .

Distribution and habitat

Giant armadillos are found throughout much of northern South America east of the Andes, except for eastern Brazil and Paraguay. In the south, they reach the northernmost provinces of Argentina, including Salta, Formosa, Chaco, and Santiago del Estero. There are no recognised geographic subspecies. They primarily inhabit open habitats, with cerrado grasslands covering about 25% of their range, but they can also be found in lowland forests.

Giant armadillos use their large front claws to dig for prey and rip open termite mounds. The diet is mainly composed of termites, although ants, worms, spiders, other invertebrates, small vertebrates and carrion are also eaten. Little is currently known about this species' reproductive biology, and no juveniles have ever been discovered in the field.

In a long-term study on the species, that started in 2003 in the Peruvian Amazon, dozens of other species of mammals, reptiles and birds were found using the giant armadillos' burrows on the same day, including the rare short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis). Because of this, the species is considered a habitat engineer, and the local extinction of Priodontes may have cascading effects in the mammalian community by impoverishing fossorial habitat. Additionally, the giant armadillo was once key to controlling leaf cutter populations which could destroy crops, but they can also damage crops themselves when digging through soil.

Female giant armadillos have two teats and have a gestational period of about five months. Evidence points to only giving birth once every three years. Little is known with certainty about their life history, although it is thought that the young are weaned by about seven to eight months of age, and that the mother periodically seals up the entrance to burrows containing younger offspring, presumably to protect them from predators. Although they have never bred in captivity, a wild-born giant armadillo at San Antonio Zoo was estimated to have been around sixteen years old when it died.

  • Giant Armadillo Project: Habitat Use and Activity
  • Hotel Armadillo - PBS Nature video of burrow, adults and baby