Mammals · Cingulata · Chlamyphoridae

Pink Fairy Armadillo

Chlamyphorus truncatus

Data Deficient

There is not enough information to assess its risk of extinction. See full glossary

The pink fairy armadillo is the smallest armadillo in the world, at some ten centimetres, and one of the least known mammals in South America. It lives underground in the sands of central Argentina, where it literally swims through the substrate with disproportionate front claws. Its pink shell, very thin, is attached to the body only by a slender membrane along the spine, and the rest of the body is covered in silky white fur. Captured animals almost never survive in captivity.

Weight

80 g – 120 g

Size

9 cm – 15 cm

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

DesertGrasslandOmnivore Nocturnal Solitary Desert Grassland Mammal

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Fun facts

Its shell is translucent and pink because it is richly supplied with blood vessels: it is thought to serve for temperature regulation, pumping blood into it or drawing it back.
It has a flat, vertical rear plate with which it blocks the entrance to its tunnel, like a stopper, when something chases it.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton with a carapace of dermal plates (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Sandy plains and dunes with dry scrub in central Argentina

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlamyphorus_truncatus