---
title: "13 Interesting Facts About Armadillos"
url: https://www.kickassfacts.com/armadillo-facts/
date: 2018-10-08
modified: 2018-10-08
lang: en
author: "jazz"
description: "Here are 13 Interesting Armadillo facts. 1-5 Armadillo Facts 1. Armadillos of the genus Dasypus give birth to four genetically identical young that split from the same embryo; i.e. they..."
categories:
  - "Animals & Plants"
  - "Fact List"
image: https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/armadillo-facts.jpg
word_count: 308
---

# 13 Interesting Facts About Armadillos

Here are 13 Interesting Armadillo facts.

## 1-5 Armadillo Facts

![](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/armadillo.jpg)

1. Armadillos of the genus Dasypus give birth to four genetically identical young that split from the same embryo; i.e. they always have identical quadruplets; they are the only known vertebrate animals to exhibit this "polyembryony". - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasypus#Ecology_and_behavior)

2. Larry McElroy, while trying to shoot an armadillo with a 9mm pistol, had his bullet ricochet off the animal’s shell, hit a fence, go through the back door of his mother-in-law’s mobile home, pierce her recliner and finally hit her in the back. -[Source](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/14/bullet-intended-for-pesky-armadillo-ends-up-injuring-shooters-mother-in-law/?utm_term=.941378111f47)

3. Ancient humans hunted Glyptodon, an extinct massive armadillo, in order to live within their shells. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyptodon#Evolution)

4. Armadillos can inflate their stomachs and intestines with air and float across the water. - [Source](http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/armadillo.html)

5. Armadillos carry leprosy and caused a spike of leprosy cases in Florida in 2015. - [Source](https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/health/florida-leprosy-cases-armadillos-irpt/index.html)

## 6-10 Armadillo Facts

![](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Giant_armadillo.jpg)Image credit: en.wikipedia.org

6. The giant armadillo of South America regularly grows to over 4 feet in length. One exceptionally large specimen tipped the scales at 180 lbs. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_armadillo)

7. Armadillos were hunted for their meat during the [Great Depression](https://www.kickassfacts.com/20-great-depression-facts/). Those who blamed President Hoover for the crisis referred to them as "Hoover Hogs." - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-banded_armadillo#Hoover_hog)

8. Armadillos can delay pregnancy to ensure good environmental conditions. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryonic_diapause)

9. There is a 5-inch-long pink-shelled armadillo species called the Pink Fairy Armadillo. - [Source](https://www.wired.com/2014/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pink-fairy-armadillo-crawls-out-of-the-desert-and-into-our-hearts/)

10. Female pichi armadillos don't have vaginas and the male's penis is 60% of its body length. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pichi#Description)

## 11-13 Armadillo Facts

![](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/screaming-hairy-armadilo.jpg)Image credit: en.wikipedia.org

11. There is a species of armadillo called the "Screaming Hairy Armadillo." It is hunted for its [meat](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-meat-part-2-of-4/) and also its carapace (armor) which is used to construct a musical instrument called charangos. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_hairy_armadillo)

12. The Aztec Nahuatl language word for armadillo is “turtle-rabbit”. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo#In_science)

13. Two species of Armadillo i.e Southern Three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) and the Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) can roll into a ball. - [Source](https://armadillo-online.org/tolypeutes.html)