🦡Armadillo vs Pangolin🦎
Both wear protective armor and eat insects, but they are not closely related. One has bony plates, the other overlapping scales.
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🦡Armadillo
- ✓Armor made of bony plates and skin
- ✓Native to the Americas
- ✓Some species roll into a tight ball
- ✓Strong digger of burrows and food
🦎Pangolin
- ✓Body covered in tough keratin scales
- ✓Found across Africa and Asia
- ✓Rolls into a near-impenetrable ball
- ✓Sadly the most trafficked wild mammal
Verdict
The armadillo has bony American armor; the pangolin wears keratin scales across Africa and Asia. They look alike but evolved their armor separately.
Frequently asked
Are armadillos and pangolins related?+
No, despite the resemblance they belong to different mammal groups and evolved armor independently.
What is pangolin armor made of?+
Keratin scales, the same material as human fingernails and hair.
Can both roll into a ball?+
Pangolins always can; only certain armadillo species, like the three-banded armadillo, can fully roll up.
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