Amazing Nature #103 - Pink fairy armadillo

in #nature6 years ago (edited)

Hi Steemit family!

Today I bring you an animal that will fascinate you, it is family of the armadillo only that this cousin so to speak is a little smaller and has some characteristics that take it away a little from the common armadillo, it is a species of Pink fairy armadillo or minor pichiciego which is endemic to Argentina, accompany me to discover this wonderful creature.

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It seems that it was taken out of a magical tale, its main ability is to excavate and it possesses like the other armadillos a shell that protects it from some common dangers in nature, the name of pichiciego comes from the language of an aboriginal ethnicity called Mapuche that has a presence in Argentina and Chile.

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Its scientific name is Chlamyphorus Truncatus its family of origin is Dasypodidae, this mammal is the smallest of its species its size can vary from 11 to 7 centimeters long. Its activity is nocturnal and takes advantage of it to dig anthills or to hide from a predator.

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The edge of its shell is loose and does not have this practical tool in some areas of its body which gives it a character of weakness. Its tail uses it to support itself in some moments as if it were a leg and it has a diamond shape, others of the characteristics that its cousins do not have is that it has a vertical plate that it uses to compact the earth while it is digging.

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Their weight is really low, ranging from 50 to 80 grams, have a shell with 24 stripes that give excellent mobility. They are specifically found in the center of Argentina surrounded by semi-arid vegetation with a variety of hoods and shrubs.

As for their reproduction, a lot can be said since there are not many field studies on the fertility of the Pink fairy armadillo, it is only known that it can have from 1 to 4 offspring depending on the climatic condition for the summer season.

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His preferred food is ants, but he can also eat other insects such as worms, larvae or snails, and some roots and plants, his diet is very balanced.

Since 1970 the pink armadillo was declared under threat of extinction due to increased agricultural production in areas where habitat, currently there is a reserve in Mendoza Argentina where many people are dedicated to generating ecological routes to show the Pink fairy armadillo in their natural habitat as well as introduce armadillos rescued from other areas to live in these large areas of protection.

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Other reasons why the pink armadillo is in danger of disappearing is due to hunting to sell in the pet market, the problem is that this species is almost impossible to resist living in captivity, usually living only 7 days and then dies. This is because it is intimately related to its environment and without it cannot survive.

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It is sad that the issue of hunting wild animals to be served in restaurants or to be sold as pets is recurrent all over the world, the degree of unconsciousness is too great to measure. Perhaps if evolution is on our side, I only hope that there will not come a day when animals capture humans to be killed to eat or sold as pets, I always remember the original film of the planet of apes, perhaps it is a crazy idea but has coherence in a world where humans have taken charge of dominating animal species at will without having any kind of pity on these beings that if they do not hurt anyone, but are part of the great gear of life, our job should be to protect and care for them, but fundamentally part of the great gear of life, our job should be to protect them and care for them.

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Thank you for reading


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Howdy from Texas flamingirl! wow, look at that little creature! So cute, and pink! A little cousin of our armadillos here, who'd a figured such a thing, very interesting. Thank you flamingirl this is amazing!

I never saw such animal before. It is strange but still kind of cute and funny looking. It reminds me of a very small piggy.

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It's amazing!

She's sooo cuteeee!!!

Je ne connaissais pas du tout cette bestiole !...

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The animal really looks very original.
It is amazing what different animals there are.
Thank you for your impressive article and photos.

Cute little thing. Thanks for sharing. Now I know such a creature exists. :-)

Omg! Sooooooo cute!

I love it tooooo 😍🥰❤

omw thats cute! hahaha, his tail not so much

Wow...never knew something like that existed! Thanks for sharing!

Looks like something for @papa-pepper to "interview"!! :-)

You're welcome my dear friend!!!! 😂😂😂