Something new is always coming out about the British royal family! This is what Prince Charles' stepson, more specifically Prince William and Harry's half-brother, looks like now!

We all know about the intense love story between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. The two have been in love for decades, even when they were both involved in different marriages. Before officially becoming a husband and wife, Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, a wealthy military man. Their relationship resulted in two children: Tom Parker Bowles and his sister Laura.

On April 8, 2005, Prince Charles, heir to the British Crown, was to marry Camilla. So her two children became her stepchildren. Thus, Prince William and Prince Harry, the boys of the late Princess Diana, the first wife of Prince Charles, have a half-brother, Tom, but also a sister, Laura.

Tom Parker Bowles is known to be 45 and has written no less than seven cookbooks so far and was a food editor for Esquire magazine. He also participated in several television cooking shows. Tom Parker Bowles is married to Sara Buys, a fashion editor with whom he has two children. His stepbrothers, Prince Harry and Prince William, also came to their wedding.

In addition, Tom Parker Bowles said at one point that he did not feel part of the royal family. His mother is married to the future king of England, but this does not mean that he is also involved in this family, in this huge responsibility to the country, to the people: “Our mother married him, she is part (of the royal family ). We are ordinary children. We're just like that, besides. "

Prince Charles has the power to grant his stepchildren noble titles once he ascends the throne, so Tom may at some point also receive a noble title.

Amazing armadillo animals seem to be actual living relics. They look like what animals seem to have looked like many millions of years ago and somehow subtly resemble dinosaurs, although they have nothing to do with them. However, armadillos are defenseless against people despite their somewhat frightening appearance, and their habitat has been inexorably shrinking in recent decades. If this continues, these amazing and interesting animals in all respects will be threatened with extinction.

 

Interesting facts about armadillos

 

 

1. Armadillos are the only mammals with a body covered with a hard shell.

 

2. They are also among the few mammals that lay eggs.

 

3. Armadillos got their name in honor of the conquistadors, Spanish warriors chained in steel armor.

 

4. South America is considered the birthplace of these animals, but armadillos also live in Central and North America and Mexico.

 

5. In the Pleistocene era, glyptodons lived in South and Central America - giant relatives of modern armadillos. With its size and dimensions, the glyptodon resembled the Volkswagen Beetle. The body length of the armadillo ancestors reached 3 meters.

 

6. Now, giant armadillos weigh about 32 kilograms and reach one and a half meters in length.

 

7. The smallest frilled armadillo - often does not exceed 15 centimeters in length.

 

8. Sometimes, armadillos are confused with pangolins. But pangolins, or lizards, are a separate detachment of placental mammals.

 

9. Armadillos are animals that got their name from the shell covering their bodies. This armor, consisting of bone plates, allowed their ancient ancestors to survive.

 

10. The shell of these animals is a bone that grows directly from their vertebrae. A strong shell reliably protects the animal's upper body; it consists of rigid plates covered with a keratinized layer of skin. All this helps armadillos to defend themselves from predatory animals.

 

ARMADILLOS ROLL UP INTO A BALL

 

11. The plates are also located on the shoulders and hips. On the back, they consist of belts, between which there is a leathery layer, which allows animals to curl up into a ball in case of danger.

 

12. But only one species of these animals can curl up into a ball to protect themselves from attack. Those armadillos that do not know how to fold into a ball will either run away when attacked or dig a hole where you can hide.

 

13. The head, the upper part of the paws, and the tail, as a rule, are also protected by armor. Therefore, the armadillos' most vulnerable part is the body's lower part, which has only a bristly hairline.

 

14. Now, there are about 20 species of these individuals and nine genera, combined into the following groups: bristly; rugged armored; ball; large; frilled.

 

15. Of the existing 20 species of armadillos, only one of them lives in North America. The rest are found in South America.

 

16. These animals live in tropical forests, grasslands, and semi-arid places.

 

HEAD-TAILED ARMADILLOS

 

17. Head-tailed armadillos. This species has medium dimensions, body length is about 35-80 centimeters, body weight is 36-40 kilograms. A distinctive characteristic of this species is the tail of the animal, it is not protected by bone growths.

 

18. These animals have a wide muzzle with straight ears. There are 5 fingers on each limb, and the middle one is much larger than the rest. Their body is covered with 9-13 movable plates. The color is dark, almost black.

 

19. The lifespan of this armadillo species in its natural habitat is 11 years, the survival rate in captivity is very low.

 

NINE-BANDED ARMADILLOS 

 

20. Nine-banded - the most famous and well-studied type of armadillos. These animals perfectly adapt to the environment, so it is found everywhere.

 

21. Their habitat is wide, they are distributed not only in most of the United States, but also in Mexico.

 

22. Nine-banded armadillos love to burrow on river banks near green bushes and trees, they can also swim short distances. For this feature they are called marine armadillos, the animal can hold its breath for up to 5-7 minutes.

 

BRISTLY ARMADILLOS 

 

23. Bristly armadillos. Their characteristic feature is their small size, the body length rarely exceeds 45 centimeters. Weight - 3.5-3 kilograms, their life expectancy is about 10 years.

 

24. Their body is covered with granular shields and has a large amount of hair. These animals have a light brown color. They appear both during daylight hours and at night.

 

25. Bristly armadillos feed on carrion, worms and insects. They breed 2 times a year, their pregnancy is infertile.

 

GIANT ARMADILLOS

 

26. Gigantic or giant armadillos. The length of their body is 1 meter, and the tail is 50 centimeters. Weight reaches 60 kilograms.

 

27. These animals have a tube-shaped muzzle and wide ears, and the number of teeth that do not have roots reaches 100 pieces. They are found in open grasslands, savannahs and jungles.

 

28. Frilled armadillos are often found in central Argentina, Bolivia, Chile. They live in dry meadows with thorny bushes.

 

29. A sexually mature individual of these animals has a body length without a tail of 10 centimeters, a tail - 2-3 centimeters, their weight - 80-90 grams. These armadillos look small and defenseless. Their color varies from soft pink tones to dark saturated shades.

 

30. Their small, oblong head and strong forelimbs are perfectly adapted for burrowing. Most of the time these animals spend underground. They are active at night. This species of armadillos is under threat of extinction.

 

DWARF ARMADILLOS 

 

31. There is also a dwarf species, their body size is 26-35 centimeters, weight is about 1 kilogram.

 

32. Scientists cannot reliably determine how many teeth each type of armadillo has. It is known that their jaws are not very powerful, and rare teeth are peg-shaped and practically not covered with enamel.

 

33. Such a structure is explained by the fact that the animals eat soft food, which is digested in the stomach, the anterior part of which is covered with hard plates. Teeth have one root and grow throughout the life of the animal.

 

34. Most armadillos are unable to roll into a ball because they have too many plates that limit their flexibility.

 

35. Armadillos are clumsy animals with an elongated muzzle and huge erect ears. They come in black, dark brown, gray, red and even yellow.

 

36. These animals are omnivores. The basis of their diet is a variety of insects and larvae, and armadillos can also eat plant foods or carrion.

 

37. Armadillos are excellent at digging - this is how they find their food, namely insects, as well as small mammals, roots and fruits.

 

 

38. In addition to digging, armadillos have a fantastic sense of smell for finding food. They can smell their prey even underground. This compensates for the fact that they have very poor eyesight.

 

39. Ants and termites are considered their special delicacy, they are not afraid of their bites, armadillos dig them out with their clawed paws. Their long, sticky tongues help them suck up ants (including fire ants) and termites.

 

40. Their front and hind legs have from 3 to 5 fingers and large sharp claws that help the animals dig the ground, open anthills and termite mounds. Large species can even break stumps or termite mounds, and then take the prey with their long tongue.

 

41. Thanks to the large salivary glands located on the lower jaw and reaching the sternum, the tongue is constantly covered with mucus. At one time, the animal eats up to 35 thousand insects.

 

42. The most common type of armadillos - nine-belted ones in one sitting can eat about 40 thousand ants.

 

43. Some species in the warm season feed on small invertebrates, and can also eat fruits. Sometimes they replenish their diet with the eggs of birds that make nests on the ground.

 

44. These animals, despite the fact that digging the ground in search of food, spoil crops, they also bring a lot of benefits, destroying harmful insects and their larvae.

 

45. These animals do not have very good eyesight and do not distinguish colors at all, but they have a fairly developed sense of smell and excellent hearing. This helps to recognize representatives of a kind, as well as to receive information about the readiness of the opposite sex for reproduction.

 

 

46. ​​Since armadillos belong to the group of mammals, they are placental. The placenta is formed only during pregnancy, through it nutrients enter the body of the embryo, cells are saturated with oxygen and hormones are produced that are responsible for the growth of the fetus.

 

47. The mating season falls on the warm season, most often in July, it is at this time that the females are physiologically ready for mating. Conception occurs sexually and often only one egg is fertilized.

 

48. At the earliest stage, the embryo remains in the uterus for about 3-3.5 months, then implantation occurs and the fetus develops for another 4 months. Delaying implantation is necessary to ensure good survival of the offspring.

 

BABY ARMADILLOS 

 

49. Cubs are born in early spring, they are well developed and within a few hours after birth they can move independently.

 

50. The shell of babies is soft, and only by the onset of puberty does it harden.

 

51. During the first months, newborns stay close to their mother, who feeds them with breast milk.

 

52. Further, already grown cubs leave the hole and begin to master adult food. Fully development is completed by 3-4 years, depending on the sex.

 

53. Most of the animals are nocturnal, but activity may vary depending on the weather and the age of the armadillo. Juveniles may emerge from their burrows early in the morning or towards afternoon. In the cold season, animals are also active during the day.

 

54. No family of mammals has such a variable number of teeth - from 28 to 40 (in a giant armadillo - up to 90-100). The number of teeth differs not only in different species, but also in different individuals.

 

55. Due to their thin shell and low body fat, armadillos cannot maintain their internal temperature, as most other mammals do.