 | ||||||||||||||||
  |
| |||||||||||||||
Nine-banded Armadillo - Dasypus novemcinctus | |
First year: 1920s Extirpated year: Established status: Populations are confirmed breeding and apparently self-sustaining for 10 or more consecutive years. Estimated Florida range: 67 counties At least 10 years Statewide trend: Unknown status Threats to natives: The impact on native species is controversial, but is potentially more significant for reptiles and amphibians on whose young armadillos may feed.. Species Account: This native of southwestern North America has expanded its range into Florida but one or more introductions of armadillos also occurred along the east coast of Florida as early as the 1920s and in southern Alabama in the 1960s . Animals from these various introductions, as well as those naturally expanding from western populations, merged in the Panhandle in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and they now occur throughout the state. Armadillos can be a nuisance to homeowners when they dig up lawns looking for food. They also carry diseases such as St. Louis encephalitis, leptospires, arboviruses, and leprosy. Habitats: Low density suburban development, areas peripheral to core urban areas, and small towns, Recently disturbed, early successional community, Flatwoods References Layne, J. 1997. Nonindigenous Mammals. Pages 157-186 in Strangers in Paradise: impact and management of nonindigenous species in Florida (Simberloff,D., D. Schmitz, and T. Brown, eds.). Island Press, Washington, D. C. |
|
Our mission: Managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.
|
|
