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LESSER HAIRY ARMADILLO Chaetophractus vellerosus
Smith P 2008 - FAUNA Paraguay Handbook of the Mammals of Paraguay Number 12 Lesser Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus vellerosus
Pdf file 1.77mb
The two Hairy Armadillos are named for the sparse covering of stiff hairs that grow on their carapace. Also known as Screaming Armadillos, they sometimes apparently omit a sharp screech when handled, though despite wide experience of the species in Paraguay we have never heard one vocalise in this way. Of the two Hairy Armadillos this is the smaller species and is further distinguished from the Large Hairy Armadillo by its longer ears. Like most other armadillos this species lives in a burrow and digs rapidly using the powerful foreclaws to escape predators. It is largely insectivorous, but also scavenges for food, being mainly nocturnal in summer, but more diurnal in winter when temperatures are cooler. They are distributed mainly in dry areas of the Chaco where they are locally common.
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FIGURE 1 - (FPMAM48PH) Adult, Laguna Capitán, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 2 - (FPMAM49PH) Lateral view of the same specimen (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 3 - (FPMAM50PH) Dorsal view of the same specimen (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 4 - (FPMAM51PH) Frontal view of the same specimen (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 5 - (FPMAM52PH) Head plate of the same specimen (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 6 - (FPMAM53PH) Adult underside, PN Defensores del Chaco, Departamento Boquerón (Sjeff Ollers October 2009).
FIGURE 7 - (FPMAM54PH) Head plate, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 8 - (FPMAM55PH) Forefoot of same specimen (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 9 . (FPMAM56PH) Hindfoot of same specimen (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 10 - (FPMAM57PH) Burrow,  Laguna Capitán, Cuenca Upper Yacaré Sur (Paul Smith September 2006).
VIDEO - (FPMAM58VI) Same individual as (FPMAM48PH - FPMAM50PH) (Paul Smith September 2006).
CLICK THE HANDBOOK LINK ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD PDFS OF THE SPECIES ACCOUNTS FOR THE FAUNA PARAGUAY HANDBOOK OF PARAGUAYAN MAMMALS VOLUME 2: XENARTHRA.
LINKS TO DOWNLOADABLE OPEN ACCESS REFERENCES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE FAUNA PARAGUAY HANDBOOK OF THE MAMMALS OF PARAGUAY SPECIES ACCOUNT FOR THIS SPECIES:

Ceresoli N, Jimenez GT, Duque EF 2003 - Datos Morfómetricos de los Armadillos del Complejo Ecológico de Sánz Peña, Provincia del Chaco, Argentina - Edentata 5: p35-37.
Chiarello A, Cuéllar E, Meritt D, Porini G, Members of the Edentate Specialist Group 2006 - Chaetophractus villosus in IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Downloaded 4 January 2008.
Edentate Specialist Group 2004 - The 2004 Edentate Species Assessment Workshop - Edentata 6: p1-26.
Myers P, Espinosa R, Parr CS, Jones T, Hammond GS, Dewey A 2006 - The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed January 2008.