Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word ''armadillo'' is Spanish for "little armored one". The Aztec called them ''azotochtli'', Nahuatl for “turtle-rabbit.”

There are approximately ten extant genera and around 20 extant species of armadillo, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor. Their average length is about , including tail; the Giant Armadillo grows up to and weighs up to , while the Pink Fairy Armadillos are diminutive species with an overall length of . All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of environments.

In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo ''(Dasypus novemcinctus)'', which is most common in the central southernmost states, particularly Texas. Their range is as far east as South Carolina and Florida and as far north as Nebraska; they have been consistently expanding their range over the last century due to a lack of natural predators and have been found as far north as southern Illinois and Indiana.

Habitat and anatomy

Armadillos are prolific diggers with sharp claws. Many species use their sharp claws to dig for food, such as grubs, and to dig dens. The Nine-banded Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds. The diet of different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites.

In common with other xenarthrans, armadillos in general have low body temperatures (33–36 °C) and basal metabolic rates (from 40–60% of that expected in a placental mammal of their mass). This is particularly true of types that specialize on using termites as their primary food source (for example, ''Priodontes'' and ''Tolypeutes'').

Armadillos have poor vision, but large eyes.

The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called "scutes", composed of bone with a covering of horn. In most species, there are rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks. Additional armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail. The underside of the animal is never armored, and is simply covered with soft skin and fur.

This armor-like skin appears to be the main defense of many armadillos, although most escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, from which their armor protects them) or digging to safety. Only the South American three-banded armadillos (''Tolypeutes'') rely heavily on their armor for protection. When threatened by a predator, ''Tolypeutes'' species frequently roll up into a ball. Other armadillo species cannot roll up because they have too many plates. The North American Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage or fenders of passing vehicles.

Armadillos have short legs but can move quite quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Because of the density of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water unless it inflates its stomach and intestines with air, which often doubles its size and allows it to swim across narrow bodies of water.

Armadillos use their claws for digging and finding food, as well as for making their homes in burrows. They dig their burrows with their claws, only making a single corridor where they fit themselves. They have five clawed toes on the hindfeet, and three to five toes with heavy digging claws on the forefeet. Armadillos have a large number of cheek teeth, which are not divided into premolars and molars, but usually have incisors or canines. The dentition of the nine-banded armadillo is P 7/7, M 1/1 = 32.

Gestation lasts anywhere from 60 to 120 days, depending on species, although the nine-banded armadillo also exhibits delayed implantation, so that the young are not typically born for eight months after mating. Most members of the genus ''Dasypus'' give birth to four monozygotic young (that is, identical quadruplets), but other species may have typical litter sizes that range from one to eight. The young are born with soft leathery skin, which hardens within a few weeks, and reach sexual maturity in 3–12 months, depending on the species. Armadillos are solitary animals that do not share their burrows with other adults.

Classification

Order CINGULATA

Family †Pampatheriidae: pampatheres

* Genus †''Machlydotherium''

* Genus †''Kraglievichia''

* Genus †''Vassallia''

* Genus †''Plaina''

* Genus †''Scirrotherium''

* Genus †''Pampatherium''

* Genus †''Holmesina''

Family †Glyptodontidae: glyptodonts

* Genus †''Doedicurus''

* Genus †''Glyptodon''

* Genus †''Glyptotherium''

* Genus †''Hoplophorus''

* Genus †''Panochthus''

* Genus †''Parapropalaehoplophorus''

* Genus †''Plaxhaplous''

''Incertae sedis'': †''Pachyarmatherium''

Family Dasypodidae: armadillos

* Subfamily Dasypodinae

** Genus ''Dasypus''

***Nine-banded Armadillo or Long-nosed Armadillo, ''Dasypus novemcinctus''

***Seven-banded Armadillo, ''Dasypus septemcinctus''

***Southern Long-nosed Armadillo, ''Dasypus hybridus''

***Llanos Long-nosed Armadillo, ''Dasypus sabanicola''

***Great Long-nosed Armadillo, ''Dasypus kappleri''

***Hairy Long-nosed Armadillo, ''Dasypus pilosus''

***Yepes's Mulita, ''Dasypus yepesi''

***†Beautiful Armadillo, ''Dasypus bellus''

* Subfamily Euphractinae

** Genus ''Calyptophractus''

*** Greater Fairy Armadillo, ''Calyptophractus retusus''

** Genus ''Chaetophractus''

***Screaming Hairy Armadillo, ''Chaetophractus vellerosus''

***Big Hairy Armadillo, ''Chaetophractus villosus''

***Andean Hairy Armadillo, ''Chaetophractus nationi''

**Genus †''Peltephilus''

*** †Horned Armadillo, ''Peltephilus ferox''

* Genus ''Chlamyphorus'', ''Chlamyphorus truncatus''

***Pink Fairy Armadillo, ''Chlamyphorus truncatus''

** Genus ''Euphractus''

***Six-banded Armadillo, ''Euphractus sexcinctus''

** Genus ''Zaedyus''

***Pichi, ''Zaedyus pichiy''

* Subfamily Tolypeutinae

* Genus †''Kuntinaru''

** Genus ''Cabassous''

***Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo, ''Cabassous centralis''

***Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo, ''Cabassous chacoensis''

***Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo, ''Cabassous unicinctus''

***Greater Naked-tailed Armadillo, ''Cabassous tatouay''

** Genus ''Priodontes''

***Giant Armadillo, ''Priodontes maximus''

** Genus ''Tolypeutes''

***Southern Three-banded Armadillo, ''Tolypeutes matacus''

***Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo, ''Tolypeutes tricinctus''

† indicates extinct taxon

Armadillos and humans

In science

Armadillos are often used in the study of leprosy, since they, along with mangabey monkeys, rabbits and mice (on their footpads), are among the few known non-human animal species that can contract the disease systemically. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium, ''Mycobacterium leprae''. (The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of 34 °C, similar to human skin.) Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat, and are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas and Louisiana. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th century, leprosy was unknown in the New World. Given that armadillos are native to the New World, at some point they acquired the disease from humans.

The Armadillo is also a natural reservoir for Chagas Disease.

The Nine-banded Armadillo also serves science through its unusual reproductive system, in which four genetically identical quadruplets are born in each litter. Because they are always genetically identical, the group of four young provides a good subject for scientific, behavioral or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in the test subjects. This is the only reliable manifestation of polyembryony in the class mammalia, and only exists within the genus ''Dasypus'' and not in all armadillos, as is commonly believed. Other species which display this trait include parasitoid wasps, certain flatworms and various aquatic invertebrates.

Armadillos (mainly ''Dasypus'') make common roadkill due to their habit of jumping to about fender height when startled (such as by an oncoming car). Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which can be a burrowing nuisance to property owners and managers.

As musical instruments

Armadillo shells had traditionally been used to make the back of the charango, an Andean lute instrument; however charangos are now made entirely of wood.

Notes

References

External links

Photographs of armadillo rolling into a ball

Category:Armadillos Category:Spanish loanwords Category:Rolling animals

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Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Shaun White
fullname	Shaun Roger White
birth date	September 03, 1986
birth place	San Diego, California, U.S.
sport	Snowboarding, Skateboarding
country
height
weight
medaltemplates	}}

}}

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board.

Early life

Shaun White is an Irish American. He was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one. He stands 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. White spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.

Snowboarding career

White's skateboard career took place during the same time he was rising through the snowboard ranks. White quickly drew the eyes of many in the skateboarder scene including professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. At this point Hawk befriended the nine-year-old White at a local skatepark and mentored him, helping him turn pro in skateboarding at the age of 17. White has gone on to win many titles on his skateboard, most notably winning the overall title of Action Sports Tour Champion, as well as being the first person to compete in and win both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports. Following in his older brother's footsteps, White switched from skiing to snowboarding at age six, and by age seven he received his first sponsorship. White has participated in two Winter Olympics in his career. At both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2009, his medal count stands at 15 (10 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), among which is the first quadruple win streak by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Teddy Flandreau, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.

2006 Winter Olympics

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the half-pipe. After his first run in qualifications, White was almost out of competition, scoring only 37.7. On his second run, he recorded a score of 45.3. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 (50 is the highest possible score) to win. Fellow American Danny Kass won the silver with a points total of 44.0.

2008

Executing a near-flawless second run, White captured his third consecutive snowboard halfpipe title at the 2008 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships to go along with his third US Open slopestyle competition. This followed White's win at the 25th (2007) Burton US Open, where he placed third in slopestlyle and first in the halfpipe. At the 2007 Open, White was also crowned the first "Burton Global Open Champion". His take for the event was $100,000 (Global Open Champ), $20,000 (1st Place Halfpipe), $90,000 (3rd Place Slopestyle), and a new Corvette.

On November 16, 2008 White released his first videogame "Shaun White Snowboarding" in North America (November 14, 2008 in Europe). ''Shaun White:Snowboarding'' was the 20th best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States.

2009

There was a lot of controversy over who won the 2009 SuperPipe at Winter X Games XIII. Kevin Pearce had 5 hits in the pipe, and all were the same tricks White did in his final run. White, on the other hand, had 6 hits and he started off his run with a big backside rodeo 540 where Pearce started his run off with a big grab. Although Pearce went bigger, he only had 5 hits, and his first hit wasn't as technical as White's first hit. Judges came to the conclusion that White deserved the better score because he started off with a more technical trick and he had 1 more hit than Pearce. With the win, White became the second competitor, after Tanner Hall, to win a gold medal in the superpipe in consecutive years at the Winter X Games. He also won a gold medal in Slopestyle, finally winning gold after 2 straight years of bronze.

On February 14, 2009, White won the FIS World Cup Men's Halfpipe event at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain. Out of the gate in his first qualifying run, he qualified immediately with the day's best score of 45.5. With a thumb sprained on an over-rotated backside 1080 in the second qualifying run, he clinched the event with the first of his two runs in the finals. His first finals run was awarded the highest score ever in FIS halfpipe, a 47.3.

2010 Winter Olympics

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, White again won gold in the halfpipe. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second run anyway, as a victory lap, ending his run with a well-anticipated Double McTwist 1260 which he named The Tomahawk. This second run resulted in a record score of 48.4 (50 is the highest possible score) enlarging his margin of victory. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0, 3.4 behind White.

2011

After a sub-par performance in the Slopestyle, failing to reach the finals, White "redeemed" himself in the Superpipe. With an 89, he sat in second place going into his 2nd of three runs. He completed the run, landing his infamous Double McTwist 1260 and finishing with a score of 97.33 to take the lead and claim the historical 4th straight Gold in the Winter X Games, held in Aspen Colorado. The score tied an X Games record, which was set by White one year before. His 3rd run was a simple victory run featuring mostly straight air.

Athletic achievements

In 2003 White was the first to compete and medal in both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.

White is the first snowboarder ever to land back to back double corks, at the Red Bull superpipe.

He remains the only skater to land the frontside heelflip 540 body varial. (The Armadillo).

He was the first to land a Cab 7 Melon Grab in vert skateboarding.

He is the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the Winter X-Games Superpipe.

He is also the first athlete ever (on snowboard or skis) to win gold medals four years in a row in the Winter X-Games Superpipe.

He is the first (and only) person to win both a Summer and Winter Dew Cup.

White was the first to "three-peat" in SuperPipe at the Winter X Games.

Shaun White holds the record for the highest score in the men's halfpipe at the Winter Olympics. In 2006, his 46.8 points bested Ross Powers' previous record of 46.1 from 2002. In 2010, during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he improved his own record with 48.4 points in his final run.

Non-competition awards and accolades

White was named the "Chairman of the Board" on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007 and again on June 19, 2010. In the March 2009 issue of ''Snowboarder Magazine'', he was named the ninth-best snowboarder in the World.

He won the ''Revolver'' Golden Gods Award for "Most Metal Athlete".

White has been named ''Transworld Snowboarding'''s Rider Of The Year twice.

Endorsements

White has had a sponsor since he was seven years old. White signed CAA Sports for representation after working with IMG for eight years. Corporate endorsement deals include or have included Burton Snowboards, Oakley, Inc., Birdhouse Skateboards, Park City Mountain Resort, Target Corporation, Red Bull, Ubisoft, Adio and Hewlett-Packard. White also has his own character on the game ''Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder'' as well as the video game ''Shaun White Snowboarding'' and the upcoming video game ''Shaun White Skateboarding''. In 2009, ''Forbes'' magazine estimated that he had earned $9 million from his endorsements in 2008.

Media appearances

He had his first published interview in TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine in 2003.

White starred in the 2005 snowboarding documentary ''First Descent''.

In 2007, White appeared on the E! reality TV show "The Girls Next Door" as a snowboarding teacher for Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. White was one of the few pro snowboarders to be a guest editor of Snowboarder Magazine (February 2008 issue).

The 2008 video game ''Shaun White Snowboarding'' is named after him, and the game was personally played and demonstrated by him at Nintendo's E3 2008 Press Conference.

A film, ''Don't Look Down'' has been released on DVD and ESPN. The film tracks his journey through the year following his Olympic success. White was on the cover for ''The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition''. White appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, March 2, 2010, recounting the story of how his mother had his first Olympic gold medal dry cleaned.

White had a cameo appearance as himself in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.

Personal life

Addressing his perception of the nickname "The Flying Tomato", ''Rolling Stone'' wrote, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it." He has also been nicknamed as "animal", a reference to a character from the satirical puppet show ''The Muppet Show''.

In February 2009, Red Bull built White a halfpipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain, coordinates (37.838801,-107.710299).

References

External links

Official Site of Shaun White

Red Bull's Secret Halfpipe — New Tricks

TTR World Snowboard Tour Rider Profile (current standings in the world ranking with contest results)

TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine — coverage of White from age 14 on

Snowboardermag.com — interviews and videos

Shaun White's U.S. Olympic Team bio

AP Winter Games Athlete Profile: Shaun White

AP: White's showstopper caps second Olympic gold

AP: Inside the Rings: Shaun White blazes trails

Shaun White Interview: Pop Magazine

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:People from San Diego, California Category:Sportspeople from San Diego, California Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American snowboarders Category:American skateboarders Category:Sportspeople from California Category:Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Snowboarders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic snowboarders of the United States Category:Sportspeople of multiple sports Category:X-Games athletes Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Olympic medalists in snowboarding

an:Shaun White bg:Шон Уайт ca:Shaun White cs:Shaun White de:Shaun White es:Shaun White fr:Shaun White ko:숀 화이트 it:Shaun White lv:Šons Vaits lt:Shaun White nl:Shaun White ja:ショーン・ホワイト no:Shaun White pl:Shaun White pt:Shaun White ru:Уайт, Шон fi:Shaun White sv:Shaun White uk:Шон Вайт