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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Arne Lesterhuis and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
GIANT ARMADILLO Priodontes maximus
Smith P 2007 - FAUNA Paraguay Handbook of the Mammals of Paraguay Number 6 Giant Armadillo Priodontes maximus
Pdf file 740kb
A giant amongst armadillos, this species has declined alarmingly over its wide range - armadillos being a favourite food hunters of bushmeat and the sheer size of this species making it a popular target! Today it is confined to the remotest areas of the Chaco where you´ll need a healthy does of luck to see one! The front paws are armed with a viciously-hooked claws, great for hacking open termite mounds. When threatened this large species (which can reach a metre in length and 60kg in weight) raises up on its hindlegs - those hooked claws are also great for defence!
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPMAM92PH)  Adult rear view, near Fuerte Olimpo, Paraguayan Pantanal (Arne Lesterhuis August 2004).
FIGURE 2 - (FPMAM93PH)  Adult found dead, Estancia Morocha, Departamento Alto Paraguay (Hugo del Castillo July 2002).
FIGURE 3 - (FPMAM1158PH)  Adult roadkill, Estancia Beatriz near Cruce Paragro Alto Paraguay (Hugo del Castillo July 2012).
FIGURE 4 - (FPMAM1180PH)  Adult roadkill, 35km S Madrejón, Alto Paraguay department (Paul Smith October 2017).
FIGURE 5 - (FPMAM1181PH)  Same individual as (FPMAM1180PH) head detail (Paul Smith October 2017).
FIGURE 6 - (FPMAM1182PH)  Same individual as (FPMAM1180PH) claw detail (Paul Smith October 2017).
FIGURE 7 - (FPMAM1183PH)  Same individual as (FPMAM1180PH) forefoot (Paul Smith October 2017).
FIGURE 8 - (FPMAM1184PH)  Same individual as (FPMAM1180PH) hindfoot (Paul Smith October 2017).
FIGURE 9 - (FPMAM1185PH)  Same individual as (FPMAM1180PH) ventral skin (Paul Smith October 2017).
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:

Allen JA 1895 - On the Names Given by Kerr in his "Animal Kingdom" Published in 1792 - Bulletin AMNH 7: p179-192. 
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.
Merritt DA 2006 -  Research Questions on the Behavior and Ecology of the Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus) - Edentata 7: p23-25.
Myers P, Espinosa R, Parr CS, Jones T, Hammond GS, Dewey A 2006 - The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed December 2007.
Porini G 2001 - Tatu Carreta Priodontes maximus en Argentina - Edentata 4: p9-14.