Pink Fairy Armadillo

Nature 4 Minutes

The pink color of their shell is due to a network of blood vessels underneath, which can be seen through the armor.

This is what gives the pink fairy armadillo shell its pink or pale-rose appearance.

The armored shell contains 24 bands that allow the pink fairy armadillo to curl up into a ball to protect its vulnerable soft underbelly.

While its shell is much softer than and more flexible than other armadillos, it still acts as armor.

Of all armadillo species, the pink fairy armadillo is the only one whose dorsal shell is totally separate from its body.

It is connected to the body with only a thin membrane, which runs right along its spine.

Scientists believe the pink fairy armadillo shell helps with thermoregulation.

Since its blood vessels are so close to the surface, the armadillo can control the amount of surface area is exposed to the environment to gain or lose heat.

The pink fairy armadillo shell can change color.

This is dependent on the environment and thermoregulation of the armadillo. Irrigation of the blood can increase into carapace of the shell to help lose heat and increase the ‘pink’ appearance. Conversely, it can drain blood from out of the shell to retain body heat which makes the shell color paler.

It’s equipped with two massive sets of claws on its front and hind legs.

They serve as tools to assist with quickly digging burrows in compacted soil. A very rare video below captures a pink fairy armadillo doing what pink fairy armadillos do best: digging.

The pink fairy armadillo has earned an unusual nickname the ‘sand-swimmer’.

It was long presumed by biologists that they could ‘swim’ through sand like a fish swimming in a body of water. However, that is a myth, the pink fairy armadillo actually digs through sand using their claws.

The posterior portion of their shell, known as the ‘butt plate’ – is flattened, so that it can compress dirt behind it as its digging.

It does so to close the burrow behind it, and create more open space in front so it can breathe. Mariella Superina a biologist managed to capture this behavior in a video below.

The claws of the Pink Fairy Armadillo make it hard to walk on hard surfaces.

Because of the size of the digging claws, which are actually large in comparison to the scale of the animal, they make walking on anything other than sand and soft surfaces very difficult.

Pink fairy armadillos are extremely sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and stress resulting from it can be devastating.

As they are classified as subterranean armadillos, any form of environmental change can have an impact on them including extreme changes in temperature or soil quality.

The desert-adapted characteristics of the pink fairy armadillo severely limits the type of habitat it can occupy.

In order for these mammals to survive, they require undisturbed regions that contain enough compact sand and hiding places for protection from elements and predators.

As a fossorial generalist insectivore, the pink fairy armadillo has a primary diet which is easily and quickly supplemented when required.

Ants and larvae that are located underground make up the main diet for this mammal and in instances when these food sources do not exist, the pink fairy armadillo will turn to plant leaves and roots.

With very small eyes, the pink fairy armadillo finds its way around in a unique manner that does not require vision.

The navigation skills of this animal come directly from touch and hearing.

The body of the pink fairy armadillo has a great deal to do with how it is able to move underground.

It has a torpedo-shape which reduces the amount of drag when burrowing underground.The tail of the pink fairy armadillo is more than just an appendage that hangs from the rear of the body.Because it is thick and hairless, the tail is used for balance and stability when all other limbs are being used for other tasks.Rain presents life-threatening risks to the pink fairy armadillo.Because it lives in burrows, during heavy rain the armadillo will vacate the underground to avoid being drowned. Plus, if it gets its fur wet, the pink fairy armadillo can’t properly thermoregulate and may develop hypothermia in the cooler hours overnight.

Oddly enough, on the black market, many of these mammals have been sold as pets. However, their low survival rate in captivity has greatly impacted that practice.

Climate change could virtually eliminate the entire pink fairy population.

Because they have very little body fat and a low metabolism rate, cold temperatures could result in the extinction of this animal. Habitat loss it already contributing to a decline in population.

Farming presents two very different risks to the pink fairy armadillo population.

In addition to farmland destroying burrows, the use of pesticide can impact the mammal. The pesticides adhere to the bodies of ants and as ants are one food source for the pink fairy armadillo, the more one ingests, the sicker it can get.

Hunters have also contributed to the decline in pink fairy armadillo population.

Pink fairy armadillos have been harvested for consumption for decades. The fact that they have a taste and texture that has been compared to pork has added to the endangerment.

They are so rare, nobody really knows their conservation status and whether they are an endangered species.

Mariella Superina a biologist for National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina’s Conservation has been trying to assess their risk of extinction and in 13 years of field work has never seen a pink fairy armadillo in the wild. She has only seen tracks, which stop suddenly, and appear to be where the armadillo has disappeared underground.

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Published by pat frederick

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164 thoughts on “Pink Fairy Armadillo”

  1. Morning All!
    hazy start to the morning here. hubby says the air should improve today.

    the article above references a video, but try as i might, i couldn’t get it to embed. sorry

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, Pat! Nature contains some truly amazing creatures! And there they go, with that climate change thingy….smh.

      Progress on the gray tabby front….after all the rain, I noticed that the jelly feeder was hanging crooked and figured it was mostly empty, which it was….so I went out to fill that and take the seed feeder down to dry it off. About 10 minutes later, I noticed another Oriole screeching over the garden bed again and peeked out – sure enough, there he sits – IN the big urn flower planter sitting outside the patio, waiting patiently. The Moss Roses had died out of it and the urn itself is falling apart – I just hadn’t done anything yet about tearing it down and adding it to the “construction” dump pile. I stepped inside and grabbed his food dish and put it out while greeting him. As soon as I closed the door, he scooted right over and started eating.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Kea posted a video last night at M’s about a gray tabby cat whose brother got adopted but not him – this one looks almost exactly like that one!

          Liked by 1 person

      1. dunno.
        someone on tcth posted a “workaround”
        if you know the twitter account…i hesitantly tried this and it did work…but not sure if it’s really safe or not.
        let’s say you wanted to re4ad DC_Draino’s tweets…
        you enter:
        https://nitter.net/DC_Draino

        the screen is dark but his tweets are there…no replies that i saw, but it’s his tweets…

        Like

    3. Good Morning ☀️
      That IS sad..I still don’t trust the twit. I’m not convinced that all the imbedded commies are gone from behind the scene (working their mischief at the platform.)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Morning Bill!
        there are lots of theories surrounding this…musk’s new ceo starts today…they need new business…truth social’s investor’s indicted over insider trading…

        Liked by 1 person

  6. “bussing in supporters”?

    Feisty Hayseed
    June 30, 2023 1:10 am

    Laura Loomer on DeS campaign
    

    Wow great work @MarcACaputo @TheMessenger!

    In case you didn’t hear, @RonDeSantis and his PAC @NvrBackDown24 received a “cease and desist” letter from an Iowa Republican leader after DeSantis was accused of bussing in supporters to one of his #Iowa events. Most of the people on… https://t.co/eeX1cjo1De

    — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 29, 2023

    Liked by 1 person

  7. they didn’t care when someone tried to attack kavanaugh and his family

    jus wundrin
    jus wundrin
    June 30, 2023 1:10 am

    Looks like another Cesar seyok attempt.

    DC Police Arrest Seattle Man Several Blocks from Barack Obama’s House with Explosives in Vehicle – Taylor Taranto Had J6 Warrant Out for His Arrest, Was Kicked Out of Nightly Vigil Outside DC Gulag

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/dc-police-arrest-seattle-man-several-blocks-barack/

    “It’s not clear why Taranto was still walking around free in Washington DC if he was inside the US Capitol and near Ashli Babbitt when she was killed? That seems a bit strange.”

    Yes it does.

    Like

  8. FactCheck- This is a LIE – Congressman Ron DeSantis refused to endorse @realDonaldTrump even AFTER Trump was the nominee of the Republican Party for President in 2016 .Add LIAR to the list of character flaws of the #FloridaFugazi#Ingrate https://t.co/WQpRH8kRA9

    — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) June 30, 2023

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Troublemaker10
    June 30, 2023 3:52 am

    About that loyalty….

    Trump didn’t just endorse DeSantis in 2018, he flew his own staffers down to Florida in an emergency mission to rescue DeSantis’ campaign, which was trailing badly in the polls. Whether you think loyalty is owed or not, appreciation certainly is. I see a lot of people dismissing… pic.twitter.com/k8M4DMBLRT

    — Dr. Benjamin Braddock (@GraduatedBen) June 30, 2023

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Troublemaker10
    Troublemaker10
    June 30, 2023 4:02 am

    “Obama pardoned Cartwright the day before he left office.

    Don’t let Democrats pretend they’re outraged by Trump having his presidential records.”

    Cont…

    ICYMI:

    General James Cartwright served as Obama’s vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    And Obama’s “favorite general.”

    In 2012, Cartwright leaked to 2 reporters highly classified intelligence on America’s and Israel’s infiltration of Iran’s nuclear program.

    These…

    — 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) June 30, 2023

    Liked by 2 people

  11. “No black person will be able to succeed in a merit-based system”

    The quiet part has finally been said out loud. Our white progressive saviors don’t think very highly of us.

    (Credit @liberalsracists) pic.twitter.com/z1CEc6ArXr

    — Adam B. Coleman, President of Aintblackistan (@wrong_speak) June 29, 2023

    Liked by 2 people

  12. rfk jr not pleased with SCOTUS decision on affirmative action
    FTA

    “Color-blind” admissions tend to favor those who are already in the circle of privilege. It favors those who grew up in affluent, educated households. Wouldn’t you like to invite in those who have been left out in the cold?

    — Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) June 29, 2023

    https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2F06%2F29%2Frfk-jr-affirmative-action-undoes-the-effects-of-racist-policies%2F

    Liked by 1 person

  13. since citizen’s free press posts a lot of “stories” that are just links to tweets, it’s pointless to even go there now till the new twitter ceo gets her head out of her ass…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That is a BIG fuck up on Elon’s part and I don’t GAS whether she is the new CEO or not – HE controls it! The numbers will drop precipitously!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. “Destroying the Environment To Save It–Preparation for East Coast wind turbine farms killing dolphins and whales”
    PETER A. MCCULLOUGH, MD, MPH™
    JUN 28, 2023
    By John Leake:

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Writing for Michael Capuzzo’s RESCUE Substack, reporter Linda Bonvie just posted an extraordinarily thorough report on the despoliation of the East Coast the Biden Administration has approved in the name of stopping climate change. Reading it this morning over coffee reminded me of Peter Arnett’s famous 7 February 1968 dispatch from the Battle of Bến Tre in Vietnam:

    ‘It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,’ a United States major said today. He was talking about the decision by allied commanders to bomb and shell the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong.’

    In order to “Save the Climate,” the Biden Administration has leased gigantic swaths of coastal seabed between Martha’s Vineyard and the New Jersey Shore for the construction of colossal wind turbine farms. The huge blitz of sonar for ocean bottom mapping is inflicting grave harm on whales and dolphins, who desperately flee from the maddening noise. Some dive to perilous depths; others run to the shoreline and beach themselves, suffering cruel and painful deaths.

    Votaries of the Climate Cult—and the financial and industrial interests who exploit their foolish religiosity in order to enrich themselves—seem to have lost all contact and feeling for actual nature—that is, the birds, whales, water, and sky, unmarred by the despoliation of man.

    The turbine farms that are planned for the coast south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are particularly distressing, as this is one of the richest coastal marine environments on earth. For decades the cod were overfished, the oyster beds poisoned, and the whales were hunted almost to extinction. However, in recent years, all have made a comeback. Is it really time to trash this environment again?

    How could the U.S. government and the American people even CONSIDER turning this coastline into a gigantic industrial park for the financial benefit of “alternative energy” companies? A particularly notable element of Bonvie’s report is that the offshore leases include (legally speaking) mineral rights, which opens up the distinct possibility that companies such as Shell—one of the concerns that is mapping the New Jersey Shore—may also get into the drilling business on these leases.

    I highly recommend reading Linda Bonvie’s report in full.”
    https://rescue.substack.com/p/whales-die-while-officials-media

    Liked by 2 people

    1. giant kickback and $$ laundering scheme.
      once the grant and subsidies are all farmed out…they will “discover” the harm and shut it down–after the corporations/politicians walk away with $$$$$$$

      Liked by 1 person


  22. “If EVs were really a needed innovation, we wouldn’t have to bribe and force car companies to produce them.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sorry RFKjr. I don’t nor will I ever share your “white guilt.” You grew up strangely privileged (your father’s wealth & influence were largely derived from his time as a bootlegger. Your family paid an enormous price for that prestige.)
      Not just me, few people have anything in common with the Kennedys.
      Nonetheless, RFKjr’s work in exposing the danger of poorly supervised vaccine manufacture to the health of children is important work that few others have been willing to do.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. NF: Eduardo Verastegui may be running for President of Mexico….that is revealed near the end of the video.

    (LifeSiteNews) — LifeSiteNews sat down with Eduardo Verástegui, producer and one of the stars of “Sound of Freedom,” and the movie’s distributor, Neal Harmon, who is also the producer of The Chosen. When asked what motivated him to take on this film project, Verástegui didn’t hesitate to answer: “God.”

    “Millions of children around the world are suffering this nightmare [and] are in pain. I’m sure many of them are praying to God to send an army to rescue them,” he explained. “And God answers those prayers by sending people like Tim Ballard, people like Jim Caviezel, and many other soldiers around the world — warriors around the world — that are working really hard to end this horrible reality.”

    “We’re talking about millions of children. Millions. So, we need a movement,” he declared. Verástegui said Sound of Freedom is a “weapon of mass instruction and inspiration” that will put more pressure on governments to act against the depraved exploitation of vulnerable children while enlisting ordinary citizens around the world to do what they can to end child-sex slavery.

    “Wake up now,” he urged. “This is just a movie [but] it’s a reality for many children unfortunately right now. As people are watching this movie, many children will disappear in Mexico. That’s not a movie. That’s a reality.”

    Video: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-sound-of-freedom-filmmakers-sit-down-with-lifesitenews-for-extended-interview/

    NF: Just one suggestion that I would offer…someone can feel deeply about the harm being done to all of these children without necessarily holding religious or Christian beliefs. For me, this issue is entirely separate from religion. When someone asks “what can I do?” it would be smart to offer some suggestions for those who DON’T wish to pray and wait for God’s answer. I think most people wouldn’t even know how to recognize that answer if it slapped them in the face. My answer was clear as a bell: my daughter died! And yes, that deeply affected my faith….but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about these children!!! Faith must NOT be used to separate people!!! Give those without faith some info on what THEY can do!

    Like

  27. National Report Card — (Our founding fathers and birthing people are not too thrilled)
    JUN 29, 2023
    “Right when Common Core got fully implemented. Weird.

    Well, once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is UP.”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. EXCERPT: “Former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering offering an alternate event to the first Republican National Committee (RNC) debate, which is scheduled to take place August 23, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to reports.

    Trump has yet to say if he will participate in the RNC-sanctioned debates, expressing disappointment back in April as possible details of the RNC’s future plans began to surface. At the time, Trump expressed disappointment that nobody obtained the approval of the Trump campaign before announcing possible details of the future debates.

    “When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?” Trump asked in an April 25 Truth Social post.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/28/report-trump-considering-alternate-programming-to-first-rnc-debate/

    Our Take: “No one is going to tune into a debate that doesn’t feature Donald Trump. The MAGA crowd, for the most part, is distrusting of Fox News and the RNC. Cycle after cycle, the GOP debate committee keeps falling for the same old slipshod, rigged forum, with the sellout corporate media and its hyper-partisan, slimy moderators not only putting a finger on the scale, but a clenched fist.

    Let’s not forget the absolute sh*tshow put on by Chris Wallace. Trump’s opponent wasn’t Biden during that debate; it was Wallace and the voices in his earpiece.

    Debates featuring Donald Trump are solid gold moments in television history; it’s like watching a pay-per-view fight; everyone is glued to the tube (or computer) eagerly waiting the next savage rebuttal or hilarious quip. Recall how he deftly squashed the confidence of Jeb Bush on live television, or how he broke Megyn Kelly. Donald Trump is a force, and without him present, you can expect Fox’s numbers to plummet like a Starlink satellite.

    An alternative to the way debates are currently handled is desperately needed. It should be conducted more at the discretion of the candidates and their bases than by a series of captured institutions like Fox and the RNC. Imagine a truly unbiased debate, moderated by somebody who has also been slighted by the system of systems—somebody like Tucker Carlson for the Republican primaries and maybe Glenn Greenwald, or even Joe Rogan for the generals.

    It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s already infinitely better than an RNC/Fox News collaborative production.” — Ryan DeLarme

    Liked by 1 person

  29. “They could use them to generate power….”

    NF: Oh, my! Is this gorgeous or what??!!??

    “Meanwhile, in Canada…”


    Liked by 1 person

  32. just spent an incredibly LONG time searching for something I know i have and use sporadically. (some quilting stencils)
    give that they’re plastic and i need them to remain perfect in form, i knew where they COULDN’T be…but that didn’t help. Next time i reorganize, i will make charts and LABEL them appropriately. this was nuts!

    Liked by 1 person

  35. California Joe
    June 30, 2023 11:25 am

    Another Supreme Court Decision the States and Federal Judges Will Completely Ignore-

    Supreme Court Sides With Christian Web Designer Vs. Same-Sex Couple

    FRIDAY, JUN 30, 2023 – 07:20 AM
    The Supreme Court on Friday sided with a Christian graphic web designer, Lorie Smith, who objected to designing wedding websites for same-sex couples.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/supreme-court-sides-christian-web-designer-vs-same-sex-couple

    Liked by 1 person

    1. how about this first amendment fortification…

      PoliticalFleaBites
      PoliticalFleaBites
      June 30, 2023 11:13 am

      The Supreme Court today handed down the most significant First Amendment decision in our lifetime. “Generally, too, the government may not compel a person to speak its own preferred messages. …Nor does it matter whether the government seeks to compel a person to speak its message when he would prefer to remain silent or to force an individual to include other ideas with his own speech that he would prefer not to include. … All that offends the First Amendment just the same”.

      You cannot be compelled to use someone’s stupid pronouns. Get over it folks.

      Liked by 1 person

  36. from citizen free press
    Twitter is now blocking non-users from reading tweets. Monumentally stupid decision by Elon Musk.
    CFP will not link to Twitter again until this decision is reversed!

    Like

  37. Big diff in temps today – just now got to 80 – cloudy but no breeze and really humid. Plenty of rain overnight, tho, so no watering for me today! Finally got my silicone MW omelet maker…spray/wipe with oil, pour in the ingredients, put it in MW for 1-3 minutes – add the cheese, fold it over and latch it, wait for it to cool. I’ll let you know how it works out…it will take some experimentation with the timing. I have a full-size MW so it will take less time.

    Liked by 1 person



  39. “Ya know, I really do get a kick outta all these alarmist jerkoffs doing all these bullshit studies tying everything that they want you to think is fucked up to ‘climate change’. It’s is such a crock of shit.
    First and foremost is this one. You gonna tell me that somehow – all of a sudden – people in India are beating the shit out of each other just because it’s hot?

    Fuck – it’s been hot there forever, and they been beating the shit out of each other since God knows when. Rednecks here in the south, Irish and Italians up in Jersey, Arabs out in the desert, Africans pretty much everywhere over there – they’ve all been beating the crap outta each other when it get’s hot. So what? WTF is new here?

    Oh – they got a chance to throw ‘climate change’ in to the equation. Here’s a great way for all of them to change the climate. Take your studies and shove ’em up your asses. But seriously, thanks for giving us more ammo to prove how fullashit y’all are…”

    Liked by 1 person

  40. “Did you ever see what 350 million years on Earth looks like?”

    “The Stacks at Downpatrick Head date back 350 million years are made of limestones and shales.
    The thin dark layers are shale formed by mud deposits, the medium layers are sandstones, while the white thick layers are limestones and made of seashells. Dun Bristle, the sea stack off Downpatrick Head, is a good example of this feature. The high cliffs were formed by the drift of the American continent against Europe as well the similar cliffs at Slieve League in Donegal.

    Dún Briste (Gaelic for Broken Fort) was once joined to the mainland. The sea stack stands 45 metres (150 feet) tall. Dun Briste and the surrounding cliffs were formed around 350 million years ago (during the ‘Lower Carboniferous Period’), when sea temperatures were much higher and the coastline at a greater distance away.”

    Liked by 1 person


  41. “Perspective my friends, – it’s very important. The small black dot in the upper left corner is the planet Mercury passing in front of the sun. Seems kinda small doesn’t it? That’s not the only perspective here. In this picture, the sun is said to be 36 million miles behind Mercury.”



    Hope M doesn’t get caught in this….
    “More than 6,300 airline flight delays and 670 cancelations happened on Thursday. Things could get more difficult as the Pete Judgeabooty’s office and the Transportation Security Administration have ‘come out’ and said (that means somebody was heard mumbling) that Friday will be the busiest air travel day ‘in the history of ever’.”

    Liked by 1 person

  42. the dutch are trying to wake up
    entire article
    In a powerful speech to the Dutch legislature, Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), unveiled a distressing account of the profound suffering endured by the Dutch people as a direct consequence of their open border immigration policies. Wilders brought attention to a series of harrowing incidents, shedding light on the severe repercussions borne by his compatriots.

    During his speech, Wilders recounted a shocking incident involving an Iranian individual who, despite facing deportation orders on two separate occasions, resorted to pouring scalding hot oil on two Dutch immigration workers, resulting in their permanent disfigurement. This desperate act was aimed at evading repatriation to Iran. Additionally, he highlighted other criminal activities committed by migrants, such as breaking into the home of an elderly woman, intruding into her bedroom, physically assaulting a woman in a wheelchair by forcibly removing her from it and throwing her onto the floor, public acts of urination and defecation by asylum seekers, an instance where a migrant exposed his genitals to a young girl, North Africans engaging in public masturbation in front of young Dutch children, instances of groping and harassment towards girls on their way to school, as well as supermarket cashiers being subjected to throat-cutting gestures by asylum seekers who were stealing from the stores. The PVV leader also mentioned incidents of Dutch citizens’ cars being set on fire. People are trapped in their houses because they no longer dare to go out at night, fearful of the escalating dangers caused by migrants.

    Wilders urgently warns, “I have confronted the Dutch Minister of Justice with the nightmarish crimes committed by asylum seekers in the Netherlands—mostly North Africans and Arabs. Our nation is being ravaged while our own government betrays us. Stop this horror now!”

    https://rairfoundation.com/stop-this-horror-now-geert-wilders-warns-of-the-threat-posed-by-north-african-and-arab-migrants-video/

    Like

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