Chaetophractus Skull Replica measures 3.6 inches. Chaetophractus Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Known as the Large Hairy Armadillo.
Chaetophractus is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America. In Spanish it is colloquially known as “peludo”.
The Chaetophractus lives from sea level to altitudes of up to 1,300 meters across the southern portion of South America, and can be found in grasslands, forests, and savannahs, and has even started claiming agricultural areas as its home.
It is an accomplished digger and spends most of its time below ground. Chaetophractus is the most abundant species of armadillo in Argentina. Their head and body are covered by protective bony plates, with its head plate being the most prominent.
Along its back, flexible bands that encircle the torso allow flexibility in this otherwise stiff armor. The underside is densely covered in hair and this trait is how it got its common name.
They can use specially evolved membranes in its nose to obtain oxygen from the surrounding soil particles without inhaling any of the soil itself.
Chaetophractus are protected from predators by a series of thin, bony plates along the head and back. Along its back, it has flexible bands that encircle the torso allow flexibility in this otherwise stiff armor.
Long, coarse hairs also project from the bony plates, making it much hairier than other related species. The average individual grows from 10 to 13 in. in body length, and weighs 4.4 lb. The tail measures 3.5 to 6.7 in. long.
They reach sexual maturity at around 9 months and have been known to live over 30 years in captivity. Though this animal is routinely harvested for its meat and its shell, or simply killed by farmers, it has shown resiliency, and populations seem to be handling this exploitation well.
When the armadillo detects a predator, it will run to the nearest burrow and wedge itself in using its legs; only the bony plates are exposed to predators. When it cannot get to one of its burrows, it will lay down flat on the ground to better protect its softer underside.
The genus Chaetophractus consists of two or three species, C. vellerosus (the screaming hairy armadillo), C. nationi (the Andean hairy armadillo, which may actually be a population of C. vellerosus, and C. villosus. These species are recognized by the large amount of hair that extends all over their bodies, but especially on their undersides.
The skulls follow the same patterns as other dasypodids, but females exhibit longer bones in the rostrocaudal plane, which is one of the key characteristics that shows the sexual dimorphism of these species. Not much is known about the cranial morphology of these species, especially bone descriptions.
Currently, no protective practices are in place for this armadillo, but it does live in many protected areas. This species of armadillo is a preferred research animal due to its adaptability to laboratory settings, and relative hardiness in situations of stress.
Chaetophractus spend most of their time burrowing in the ground and looking for insects or worms as its main foraging method. Its powerful front claws and snout allow it to rout through the sediment with relative ease.
The Chaetophractus is a least-concern species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent.
