and secondary forests, cerrados, shrublands and deciduous forests. It can adapt to a variety of habitats; it can even occur on agricultural lands and has been recorded at above the sea level. A study in southeastern Brazil estimated the population density at 0.14 individuals per hectare. The same study showed that the six-banded armadillo often displaces and is displaced by the sympatric southern naked-tail armadillo; this was considered to be helpful in their coexistence. The six-banded armadillo has a wide distribution in South America, from Brazil and southern Suriname in the northeast through Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay into northern Argentina in the southeast. Its presence in Peru is doubted. Threats and conservation The IUCN classifies the six-banded armadillo as least concern, due to its wide distribution, good degree of tolerance and presumably large populations. Moreover, it occurs in several protected areas. Though there are no major threats to its survival, six-banded armadillo populations north of the Amazon River might be declining due to few patches of savannas, human settlement and industrial expansion. Moreover, these armadillos are reportedly hunted for medicinal purposes, though their meat is believed to have an unpalatable taste; in some areas in its range, people detest its meat due to the belief that the animal feeds on "rotting human corpses". A 2011 study compared the six- and nine-banded armadillos in Paraíba (Brazil); nine-banded armadillo meat tasted better according to the majority of the locals. Consumption of six-banded armadillo meat was not considered safe by the locals for people with certain health problems, such as injuries and hepatitis, a taboo that had stemmed probably from concerns over the armadillo's diet. Six-banded armadillos often raid cropfields to feed on tender plants; farmers are known to use traps aided by corn baits for these animals to curb the menace. References External links Armadillos Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Paraguay Mammals of Uruguay Mammals of Suriname Fauna of the Amazon Fauna of the Cerrado Mammals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus