Giant battleship: description of the animal, habitat

Battleship - one of the most ancient and unusual on the planet of animals. At home, representatives of this family are called amadillas or "pocket dinosaurs". It is believed that the first battleships appeared on Earth 55 million years ago. To survive, unlike many other representatives of fauna, these animals for such a long time managed mainly due to the presence of shell. The largest representative of this family is Priodontes maximus - a giant battleship.

Habitat

In the wild, this type of armadilloes lives only in South America. Meet these unusual spectacular "mini-dinosaurs" can be from Venezuela in the south to Paraguay in the north. The giant battleship is an animal whose habitat is thus quite extensive. Amadillas live in this area mainly only in wooded areas. . The territorial site of one animal is usually 1-3 km square . Lifestyles such armadillos lead a single.

Description of the animal

The exterior view of the giant armadillo is really impressive. The body length of an adult can reach 75-100 cm. The animal's weight often exceeds 30 kg. That is, in size Priodontes maximus resembles a 4-6-month-old pig. In captivity, the weight of this species of armadillos can reach 60 kg.

The entire body - the sides, tail, head, back - of this southern animal is covered with small horny shields, connected together by an elastic tissue. Due to this, Amadilla armor differs mobility. The color of the shell of the giant battleship is dark brown. In any case, the stomach of Priodontes maximus is always lighter than the back.

The muzzle of the giant battleship has a tubular shape. Teeth in the animal are directed back. On the claws of the amadilla there are large claws. The language of this battleship, like most other representatives of the family, is long and sticky. An animal easily "catches" even the most nimble insects.

Animal Diet

Despite the frightening appearance, a dangerous predator is not a giant battleship. It feeds in the wild mainly with termites, worms and all sorts of creeping and flying insects. The sharp long claws of Priodontes maximus are needed not for attack, but for ruining nests and digging holes.

An interesting feature of the giant battleship is that, despite its massive nature, this beast can easily stand on its hind legs. If necessary, thus, Priodontes maximus freely reaches the top of the largest termite quarry.

How to multiply

With congeners Priodontes maximus occur only when they wish to have offspring. Sexual maturation in these animals occurs at the age of about a year. Pregnancy in the females of the giant battleship lasts not too long - about 4 months. In the litter, there is usually one or two cubs. In their education, only the mother takes part. The female feeds the milk of the baby for about six months. Then the children begin an independent life.

Economic value

In most parts of South America, the Amadilla is not liked and considered a pest of fields. The habitat of the giant battleship is extensive, and with people it "intersects" quite rarely. However, sometimes these animals do raids on crops. Of course, they do not eat plants, but they arrange "pogroms", tearing the earth in search of insects. Also, the amadillas, galloping around the field, mnut planting, sometimes causing considerable damage.

The pocket dinosaur has no special economic value. Indians meat armadilloes, for example, never eat (because of its pronounced musky taste). But some Europeans consider this product tasty enough and reminiscent of pork. Therefore, Battleships not only exterminate farmers, but also catch lovers of delicacies. This animal does not belong to endangered species. However, even today it is considered rare.

The extinct giant armadillo

Priodontes maximus - today, as already mentioned, the largest representative of the family. However, in prehistoric times on Earth, of course, lived and much more "oversized" battleships. For example, in the south of North America (10-11 thousand years ago) relatively recently inhabited by glyptodones and doedikurusy, outwardly very similar to the modern Priodontes maximus, but having much larger sizes. Their remains are found by archeologists quite often. The length of the body of these monsters could reach 3-4 meters.