Euphractus sexcinctus
Silhouette: Victor Geovanne Ferreira · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The six-banded armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus), also known as the yellow armadillo, is an armadillo found in South America. The sole extant member of its genus, it was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The six-banded armadillo is typically between 40 and 50 centimeters (16 and 20 in) in head-and-body length, and weighs 3.2 to 6.5 kilograms (7.1 to 14.3 lb). The carapace (hard shell on the back) is pale yellow to reddish brown, marked by scales of equal length, and scantily covered by buff to white bristle-like hairs. The forefeet have five distinct toes, each with moderately developed claws.
Six-banded armadillos are efficient diggers and form burrows to live in and search for prey. The armadillo is alert and primarily solitary. An omnivore, it feeds on insects, ants, carrion, and plant material. Due to their poor eyesight, armadillos rely on their sense of smell to detect prey and predators. Births take place throughout the year; gestation is 60 to 64 days long, after which a litter of one to three is born. Weaning occurs at one month, and juveniles mature by nine months. The six-banded armadillo inhabits savannas, primary and secondary forests, cerrados, shrublands, and deciduous forests. Fairly common, its range spans from Brazil and southern Suriname in the northeast through Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay into northern Argentina in the southeast. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classifies it as least concern, and there are no major threats to its survival. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Six-banded Armadillo sighting in Emas National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 15 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Six-banded Armadillo in Emas National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Six-banded Armadillo sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Six-banded Armadillo sightings, Emas National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 50%).
Same family: Dasypodidae
The closest relatives of the Six-banded Armadillo that you can see in Emas National Park (family Dasypodidae, Long-nosed Armadillos) are Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo (about 30%) and Cabasu (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Six-banded Armadillo is recorded against all the mammals logged in Emas National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
