---
title: "Large Hairy Armadillo"
description: "Chaetophractus villosus — Mammals. The big (or large) hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/large-hairy-armadillo
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Large Hairy Armadillo

> Chaetophractus villosus — Mammals. The big (or large) hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America.

- Scientific name: *Chaetophractus villosus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 1496
- Wikidata: [Q1042139](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1042139)
- iNaturalist taxon: [47088](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47088)

## Names

- en: Large Hairy Armadillo
- de: Braunborsten-Gürteltier
- es: Peludo
- fr: Grand tatou velu
- nl: Bruinbehaard gordeldier
- pl: Włosopuklerznik kosmaty

## Countries with the most observations

AR (1148), CL (226), PY (7)

## Summary

The big (or large) hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America. It lives from sea level to altitudes of up to 1,300 meters across the southern portion of South America, and can be found in grasslands, forests, and savannahs, and has even started claiming agricultural areas as its home. It is an accomplished digger and spends most of its time below ground. It makes both temporary and long-term burrows, depending on its food source. In Spanish it is colloquially known as peludo.
Armadillos are protected from predators by a series of thin, bony plates…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_hairy_armadillo

## Photo

![Large Hairy Armadillo](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/large-hairy-armadillo/medium.jpg)

Photo: Allan Harris · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150004292

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/large-hairy-armadillo?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).