The battleship is an animal that can stand up for itself

On our planet there are a lot of amazing and interesting creatures with an unusual appearance. To such amusing little animals is the battleship. The animal lives on the earth for about 55 million years. Ancient specimens were larger than modern armadilloes, their weight reached several tons, and the length of the trunk is about 2.5 meters, you can compare these creatures with hippos. As before, today, animals live in South America and in the south of North America.

At home, armadillos are called armadillas, which means "carrying armor", or pocket dinosaurs. And all the fault is a reliable shell that covers the tail, back, sides and part of the animal's head. The family has about 20 species and belongs to the group of incomplete teeth, even though those teeth are not too small - from 20 to 65. The armadillo is dressed in chain mail from bone strips and plates. The photo of these creatures evokes tenderness and a smile, despite their clumsiness, they run pretty fast, hiding from the pursuit.

In the villages of Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina, you can often see a picture of how boys play football with a heavy ball. When the game ends, this very tangle unfolds and runs away - this is the battleship. An animal for several seconds is able to fold into a ball, which is not so easy to uncover. Another way to escape from persecution is to dig in the ground. Long claws on the front legs help quickly to dig holes, tear out tree trunks, tear nests and termites, what can we say about burrowing into sand or loose ground.

Today there are not so many armadillas left. Local people believe that the battleship has a very strong magical properties. The animal is caught to kill and make amulets out of its bones and shell. Meat is also very healthy and tasty, so there are plenty of hunters. On an even surface, armadillas are very difficult to escape from humans and dogs, but as soon as they reach the thickets, it is no longer possible to pursue them: a strong armor allows you to confidently make your way through thorns and tangled branches.

The shell protects only the upper part of the body, but the stomach is completely defenseless, it has only coarse hairs. Collapse in the ball can only two types: the Brazilian and the Lapatian battleship. The animal thus hides its light body. But the nine-type view and others do not possess such abilities. Armadillas mostly lead a nocturnal lifestyle: in the daytime they hide and sleep, and at night go out hunting. Their teeth are very weak, so armadillos feed on insects, berries, snakes, snails, worms and other invertebrates. Food is chewed not in the mouth, but in the stomach, where there are sharp thorns.

Absolutely helpless and without protective armor, an animal battleship is born . Photo of kids gives an idea of how easy prey they are in the first days after birth. A few weeks later, a solid shell appears. Of great interest to geneticists and psychologists are the nine-footed armadillas, since they are always born by same-sex twins. By placing animals in different habitats, scientists observe the effect of the environment on creatures with the same genes.