Further, human activities have caused a decline in many natural predators of North American nine-banded armadillos. Even so, they do not readily cross large bodies of water. Nine-banded armadillos are able swimmers due to their ability to hold air in their digestive tract, increasing buoyancy they are also able to walk along river bottoms as a result of their ability to maintain a large oxygen debt. The construction of roads and bridges have both facilitated human introduction of nine-banded armadillos into new areas, as well as provided a means for wild nine-banded armadillos to move across the wide waterways and other natural obstacles that would had previously prevented their expansion. Increasing human populations and development of transportation routes are thought to help rather than hinder the geographic expansion of nine-banded armadillos. ( Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982 Macdonald, 1984 Van Deelen, et al., 2002 Wilson and Ruff, 1999) For this reason, nine-banded armadillos have not migrated into the arid, desert regions of New Mexico and other western states. Another factor that has limited their migration westward is dependence on rainfall or other sources of water. They can survive short periods of severe cold by remaining in a burrow for days at a time. However, if winter seasons become milder, nine-banded armadillos may continue their migration northward. Migration and establishment of populations northward is likely limited by the severity of cold, winter weather, for which the species does not have a strong tolerance. In 2000, the dead body of a nine-banded armadillo was discovered in central Illinois. They have been spotted as far east as Florida and are common as far north as Missouri. Beginning in the late 19th century, they gradually expanded their range to the northeast. As early as 1850, nine-banded armadillos were found no further north than Texas. The species is threatened by habitat destruction from conversion of its native Dry Chaco to farmland, and from hunting for food and the pet trade.Nine-banded armadillos are found in South, Central, and North America, and have the largest range of any extant species of armadillo, from Argentina and Uruguay, through Central America and into the southern United States. In captivity, armadillos also eat foods such as fruits and vegetables. The three-banded armadillo has a long, sticky, straw-like pink tongue that allows it to gather up and eat many different species of insects, typically ants and termites.
Unlike most armadillos, they are not fossorial, but will use abandoned giant anteater burrows. They are among the smaller armadillos, with a head-and-body length of about 22 to 27 cm (8.7 to 10.6 in) and a weight between 1 and 1.6 kg (2.2 and 3.5 lb). They are typically a yellow or brownish color. The shell covering its body is armored and the outer layer is made out of keratin, the same protein that builds human fingernails. The three characteristic bands that cover the back of the animal allow it enough flexibility to fit its tail and head together, allowing it to protect its underbelly, limbs, eyes, nose and ears from predators. The southern three-banded armadillo and the other member of the genus Tolypeutes, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo, are the only species of armadillos capable of rolling into a complete ball to defend themselves (volvation). It is found in parts of southwestern Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, at elevations from sea level to 770 m (2,530 ft).
The southern three-banded armadillo ( Tolypeutes matacus ), also known as La Plata three-banded armadillo or Azara's domed armadillo, is an armadillo species from South America.
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