The Males Aren't Pink, They're "Salmon"

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The Males Aren’t Pink, They’re “Salmon”

Today’s special animal friend is the Pink Fairy Armadillo, Chlamyphorus truncatus. This cute little burrowing animal is found only in central provinces of Argentina, in a habitat which includes sand dunes, dry grassland, and scrub.

They are up to six inches long, the smallest known species of armadillo. They have short legs, long claws, white fur, and a pink, segmented carapace which gives them kind of an isopod look.

Scientific information on them is limited by the fact that they usually die within a week of being removed from their native environment. The oldest known survivor in captivity was 4 years old when it died in 1971. According to IUCN, they are “data deficient” and cannot be evaluated for conservation status. They dig holes in the sand for protection and to stay warm. The carapace is primarily for temperature regulation, not protection. It is filled with blood vessels – which cause the pink color – that empty or fill depending on whether the animal needs to cool down or warm up. Their fine fur also helps keep them warm.

They are omnivorous, eating a mixed diet of invertebrates – mostly ants – and plants. They can bury themselves in the sand in seconds, like a bottom-dwelling fish. Nocturnal and secretive, they defy scientists who want to learn more about them.

Because the pink fairy armadillo is found in a limited habitat, it is vulnerable to environmental changes. Unusually heavy rains can force them out of their burrows, and they can die from hypothermia if their fur gets wet. Conversion of scrub land to farmland reduces the available habitat. Use of pesticides on crops can make the ants on which the armadillos feed toxic. They are also hunted for food, which is just nonsense: they’d hardly make a bite. Some of their habitat in Argentina is protected from development.

The articles have no information about the pink fairy armadillo’s reproduction. However, the greater fairy armadillo or Chaco armadillo, Calyptophractus retusus, has been studied slightly more. Found in the Chaco region at the border of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, this species is a couple of inches larger. Like some other armadillo species, these produce a single fertilized egg which may divide into up to four identical embryos. Gestation is about four months. The infants are weaned in about six months, which is the amount of time it takes their armor plates to harden. They are mature at about a year old.

There are 21 extant species of armadillos. All of them are found in South America.