Tatou Skull Replica measures 7.3 inches. Tatou Skull Replica is Museum quality polyurethane resin cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Priodontes maximus. Made in USA. Known as the Giant Armadillo.
The Tatou is the largest living species of armadillo, with 11 to 13 hinged bands protecting the body and a further three or four on the neck. Its body is dark brown in color, with a lighter, yellowish band running along the sides, and a pale, yellow-white head.
These armadillos have around 80 to 100 teeth, which is more than any other terrestrial mammal. The teeth are all similar in appearance, grow constantly throughout life, and lack enamel.
Tatou also possess extremely long front claws, including a sickle-shaped third claw up to .7 in. in length.
The tail is covered in small rounded scales. Giant armadillos or Priodontes maximus typically weigh around 41 to 72 lb. The typical length of the species is 30 to 39 in., with the tail adding another 20 in.
Tatou are found throughout much of northern South America east of the Andes, except for eastern Brazil and Paraguay. In the south, they reach the northernmost provinces of Argentina, including Salta, Formosa, Chaco, and Santiago del Estero.
They primarily inhabit open habitats, with cerrado grasslands, they can also be found in lowland forests.
Tatou are solitary and nocturnal, spending the day in burrows. They also burrow to escape predators, being unable to completely roll into a protective ball.
Compared with those of other armadillos, their burrows are unusually large, with entrances averaging 17 in. wide, and typically opening to the west.
Tatou use their large front claws to dig for prey and rip open termite mounds. The diet is mainly composed of termites, although ants, worms, spiders and other invertebrates are also eaten.
Female Giant Armadillos have two teats and have a gestational period of about five months. Evidence points to only giving birth once every three years.
Little is known with certainty about their life history, although it is thought that the young are weaned by about seven to eight months of age, and that the mother periodically seals up the entrance to burrows containing younger offspring to protect them from predators.
Despite this species’ wide range, it is locally rare. This is further exacerbated by habitat loss resulting from deforestation. Current estimates indicate the Giant Armadillo or Tatou may have undergone a worrying population decline of 30 to 50 percent over the past three decades. Without intervention, this trend is likely to continue.
Tatou is a vulnerable species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
