Morphological characteristics

Most species of armadillos, with bony carapace covering the head, body, tail and outer legs; This layer of bone armor penetrates deep into the skin and is covered by thin keratinous tissue. The bony carapace of the head, the anterior half and the posterior half is separated. The bone armor in the middle of the body is banded and can be flexibly moved. In places where the body has no bony discs, there are sparse hairs. Armadillos have small ears and a long pointed mouth. There are powerful claws on the front feet for digging holes.