Armadillos

Seems to be common to the regions our various contributors inhabit (except maybe Feshy, do you have these little armored road kill up there?) . A work discussion about them has brought me to some interesting facts (some I'd heard but never seen, some I'd never heard of).

1: They can carry leprosy. Their relatively cool core temperature (~93f) is a good breeding ground for the bacteria.
2: They give birth in the form of a monozygotic quadruplets. Four genetically identical 'dillo pups. This makes them useful for genetic studies. Essential even- since they are the only mammel that reliably does this.
3: They are made into insturments in some parts of the world. I find this disturbing for some reason.
4: They can curl up in to a little ball. I've never actually seen this, and this may not be something our brand of 'dillos can do. Ours apparently just jump up in the air, as though they did not care.
5: Overlapping scales are called "Scutes."
6: They can hold their breath for more than six minutes, and are not boyant unless they intentionally inflate themselves. When they do, they can double in size.
7: Dongle is good at sneaking up on them, but has yet to actually grab their tail. Which seems like a great idea.