What is the armadillo’s closest living relative?
According to this site
www.msu.edu/user/nixon/armadillo
it is sloths and anteaters, which seems to square with what I remember from way back when I studied this kind of thing. Edentates, unless they have changed the name/classification.
D’oh! Try this:
www.msu.edu/user/nixonjos/armadillo
Also remember that there are half a dozen species of armadillo…the familiar 9 banded armadillo of north america, the 3 banded armadillo, the giant armadillo, the pink fairy armadillo, etc.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Dasypodidae.html
And here’s some pictures of the pink fairy armadillo:
Indeed, they have. Given that “edentate” means “without teeth”, and given that only one member of the group (which included armadillos, sloths, and anteaters) actually was lacking teeth (the anteaters), it was decided to scrap the name in favor of something a bit more descriptive of the group as a whole - so now it’s Xenarthra. “Why Xenarthra,” you ask? Why, because of their xenarthrous processes!
Incidently, sloths and anteaters appear to be more closely related to each other than either is to the armadillo. The three do make up a monophyletic clade (that is, they all descended from a single comon ancestor), however.
Actually, there appear to be about 21 species, in 8 genera. See here. My favorite, if only in name, is the Screaming Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus).
You guys are reading way too much into the question. The correct answer is the armadillo’s twin brother.