D I D YO U K N O W lo l The common nine-banded armadi in studies of the disease los are some of the is used only animals besides humans that get l e p r o s y A r m a d i the disease And the organism that leprosy can’t be grown causes laboratories in l
ARMADILLOS The A rmoredAnimal s Can you imagine an animal covered in armor from head to toe like a medieval knight Meet the armadillo The word armadillo means little armored one in Spanish Armadillos are round creatures with short legs and are about the size of a small dog They have strong curved claws and yes their bodies are covered with armor Their armor is made of hard plates or scales connected by bands that stretch If they didn’t stretch the armadillo would have a hard time moving about This armor helps protect the armadillo from its enemies But its main job is to keep the armadillo from getting cut and scratched by the thorns and cactus that live where it lives Central and South America are home Armadillo of the Andes Mountains in South America Galen Rowell Corbis to many kinds of armadillos There you’ll find the pichi armadillo Burmeister’s armadillo and the pink fairy armadillo You’ll also find the giant armadillo which is nearly five feet long One species the nine banded armadillo is found in Texas and several other U S states Armadillos can’t see very well and are almost toothless They hunt mostly at night and eat insects and worms soft roots and fruits and dead animals that they sometimes find When enemies turn up the armadillo usually runs away into the tough underbrush where its predators can’t follow Sometimes the armadillo will jump straight into the air to scare its enemies As a last resort it will roll itself up into a hard ball You may not believe it but armadillos are also very good swimmers They stay afloat by swallowing a lot of air It turns out that under all that armor armadillos are full of surprises S EA R C H LIG H T Fill in the blanks The word armadillo is Spanish for _______ _______ _______ LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES OPOSSUMS PORCUPINES TAPIRS The long-nosed armadillo is one of South America’s many varieties Martin Harvey Gallo Images Corbis Answer The word armadillo is Spanish for littlearmoredone 7
S EA R C H LIG H T What’s wrong with the following statement Chameleons can make their skin color change in order to match their surroundings
CHAMELEONS DID YOU KNOW Some say that the chameleon’s eyes helped inspire the invention of the military turret a revolving tower You can see turrets today on the tops of tanks T h e Color-WizardLizards Many people believe that the lizards known as chameleons can make their color change to match their surroundings It’s true that the color of a chameleon’s skin can change but not because the chameleon decides to The color change may help the chameleon avoid its enemies The color change is a form of camouflage a disguise that lets something blend in with its surroundings Chameleon skin contains color-causing substances called pigments that change under certain conditions For instance on a day when there is no bright sunlight chameleons appear gray or green Bright sunlight causes the skin to darken On cool nights the color fades to a creamy color The skin also changes color when chameleons are excited angry or afraid Chameleon of South Africa Erice Reisinger Gallo Images Corbis There are many types of chameleons About half are found only in the African island of Madagascar The others occur mostly south of Africa’s Sahara desert with another few in western Asia and southern Europe The false chameleon or anole is often sold in pet stores This lizard of the Americas changes color but not as dramatically as a true chameleon Chameleons live in trees where they usually eat insects They catch their prey with the help of their long and slender tongue They shoot the tongue out grab the prey on the sticky end and then draw the tongue back into the mouth Very large chameleons may even use their sticky tongues to catch birds Another unusual thing about chameleons is that each eye can move independently of the other so they can see in different directions at once This makes it very hard to sneak up on a chameleon LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES KING COBRAS LEMURS OCELOTS The Parson’s chameleon from Madagascar is one of the largest of its family Royalty-Free Corbis match their surroundings decide to change it and it doesn’t always change in order to Answer Chameleons skin color does change But they don’t 9
