Editing Armadillo (section)

=== Science and education ===
Armadillos are often used in the study of [[leprosy]], since they, along with [[mangabey]] monkeys, rabbits, and mice (on their footpads), are among the few known species that can contract the disease systemically. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium, ''[[Mycobacterium leprae]]''. (The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of {{convert|34|C}}, similar to human skin.)<ref name="Truman">{{cite journal|last1=Truman|first1=Richard|title=Leprosy in wild armadillos|journal=Leprosy Review|date=2005|volume=76|issue=3|pages=198–208|doi=10.47276/lr.76.3.198 |url=http://www.lepra.org.uk/platforms/lepra/files/lr/sept05/lep198-208.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.lepra.org.uk/platforms/lepra/files/lr/sept05/lep198-208.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=4 May 2017|pmid=16248207}}</ref> Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat.<ref name=NYT2011/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Guiden |first=Mary |date=June 2018 |title=New evidence that wild armadillos spread leprosy to humans |url=https://cvmbs.source.colostate.edu/new-evidence-that-wild-armadillos-spread-leprosy-to-humans/ |access-date=November 16, 2023 |website=Colorado State University}}</ref> Armadillos are a presumed [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] and [[natural reservoir]] for the disease in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Zoonotic Leprosy in the Southeastern United States|first1=Rahul|last1=Sharma|first2=Pushpendra|last2=Singh|first3=W.J.|last3=Loughry|first4=J. Mitchell|last4=Lockhart|first5=W. Barry|last5=Inman|first6=Malcolm S.|last6=Duthie|first7=Maria T.|last7=Pena|first8=Luis A.|last8=Marcos|first9=David M.|last9=Scollard|first10=Stewart T.|last10=Cole|first11=Richard W.|last11=Truman|date=1 December 2015|journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases|volume=21|issue=12|pages=2127–2134|doi=10.3201/eid2112.150501|pmid=26583204|pmc=4672434}}</ref><ref name="Truman 2011"/> Prior to the [[European colonization of the Americas|arrival of Europeans in the late 15th century]], leprosy was unknown in the New World. Given that armadillos are native to the New World, at some point they must have acquired the disease from old-world humans.<ref name=NYT2011/><ref name="Truman 2011" />

The armadillo is also a [[natural reservoir]] for [[Chagas disease]].<ref name=Yaeger1988/>

The nine-banded armadillo also serves science through its unusual reproductive system, in which four genetically identical offspring are born, the result of one original egg.<ref name="ufl"/><ref name="valdosta"/><ref name="Hamlett1933"/> Because they are always genetically identical, the group of four young provides a good subject for scientific, behavioral, or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in the test subjects. This is the only reliable manifestation of [[polyembryony]] in the class [[Mammalia]], and exists only within the genus ''Dasypus'' and not in all armadillos, as is commonly believed. Other species that display this trait include parasitoid wasps, certain flatworms, and various aquatic invertebrates.<ref name="valdosta" />

Even though they have a leathery, tough shell, armadillos, (mainly ''Dasypus'') are common [[roadkill]] due to their habit of jumping 3–4&nbsp;ft vertically when startled, which puts them into collision with the underside of vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How high can a nine-banded armadillo jump?|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/how-high-can-a-nine-banded-armadillo-jump/|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Library of Congress}}</ref> Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which can be a burrowing nuisance to property owners and managers.<ref name="ufl" />