Nine-banded Armadillo & Homeostasis
Chloe Pak
DESCRIPTION
Armadillo is a Spanish word meaning “little armored one” and refers to the bony plates that cover the back, head, legs, and tail of most of these odd looking creatures. Armadillos are the only living mammals that wear such shells.
LIFE PROCESSES
Transport
The armadillo’s circulatory system includes hot blood going out through arteries and being cooled by cold blood coming in through veins. If the oxygen content of the blood falls, or the carbon-dioxide concentration increases, blood flow is increased by more vigorous heart action and the speed and depth of breathing increases.
EXCRETION
Amylase is present in saliva and breaks down food. The nine bade armadillo has an intestine similar to that of the great anteater, with a short canal and no cecum. The excretory system of metanephric kidneys and ureters opens into a bladder.
RESPIRATION
The Nine Banded Armadillo has a commonly seen lung system. It inhales oxygen carries out the process of respiration and exhales carbon-dioxide.
NUTRITION
Nine-banded armadillos are generally insectivores. The kidneys are used to remove excess water and ions from the blood. These are then expelled as urine. The kidneys perform a vital role in homeostatic regulation in mammals, removing excess water, salt, and urea from the blood. If the water content of the blood and lymph fluid falls, it is restored in the first instance by extracting water from the cells. The throat and mouth become dry, so that the symptoms of thirst motivate the animal to drink.
GROWTH
Nine-banded armadillos reach sexual maturity at the age of one year.
REPRODUCTION
Once the zygote does implant in the uterus, a gestation period of four months occurs, during which the zygote splits into four identical embryos, each of which develops its own placenta, so blood and nutrients are not mixed between them. After birth, the quadruplets remain in the burrow, living off the mother’s milk for about three months. They then begin to forage with the mother, eventually leaving after six months to a year.
REGULATION
The hypothalamus, which monitors the body temperature, is capable of determining even the slightest variation of normal body temperature. Response to such variation could be stimulation of glands that produce sweat to reduce the temperature or signaling various muscles to shiver to increase body temperature. Having a lower body temperature than most mammals, armadillos cannot tolerate long periods of cold weather.