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Giant Armadillo
Guillaume Delaitre, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sloths, anteaters & armadillos

Giant Armadillo

Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792)

VU VulnerableOn Suriname's list of threatened fauna

Names

EnglishGiant Armadillo
DutchReuzengordeldier
SpanishArmadillo gigante
Chinese大犰狳
Scientific namePriodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792)

About this species

The giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), colloquially tatu-canastra, tatou, ocarro or tatú carreta, is the largest living species of armadillo (although their extinct relatives the glyptodonts were much larger). It lives in South America, ranging throughout as far south as northern Argentina. It is considered to be a vulnerable species.

The giant armadillo prefers termites and some ants as prey, and often consumes the entire population of a termite mound. It also has been known to prey upon worms, larvae and larger creatures, such as spiders and snakes, and plants. Some giant armadillos have been reported to have eaten bees by digging into beehives.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCingulata
FamilyDasypodidae
GenusPriodontes

In Suriname

89Records in Suriname
1833First record
2017Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Brokopondo75
  • Sipaliwini2

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Records by month

All years combined.

Sources & credits

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Related species in Suriname