The nine-banded armadillo is the state small mammal of Texas. It is about the size of a house cat. Its back is covered with hard plates made of bone, like a suit of armor. The plates help protect the armadillo from thorny plants and from some animals that want to eat it.

Armadillos are good diggers. They use their strong front claws to dig burrows. A burrow is a hole in the ground where an armadillo sleeps and stays safe. Armadillos also dig in the dirt to find insects and grubs to eat.

An armadillo cannot see very well, but it has an excellent sense of smell. It can smell insects that are hiding under the ground.

A mother armadillo usually has four babies at one time. The four babies are always alike: they are all boys or all girls.