• 18 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Label the Armadillo Skeleton

The bones of a nine-banded armadillo from the side: eighteen numbers, a line for each name, and a key.

Label the Armadillo Skeleton

Name Date

Numbered worksheet

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Skull
  2. Mandible
  3. Teeth
  4. Cervical vertebrae
  5. Scapula
  6. Thoracic vertebrae
  7. Ribs
  8. Lumbar vertebrae
  9. Sacrum
  10. Pelvis
  11. Caudal vertebrae
  12. Clavicle
  13. Humerus
  14. Radius
  15. Ulna
  16. Ungual phalanges (claw bones)
  17. Femur
  18. Tibia and fibula

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step The labeled armadillo, with its shell in sections

All 18 parts on the diagram

Show the list
  1. Skull A low skull that tapers to a long, narrow snout.
  2. Mandible The lower jaw. It carries the lower row of peg teeth.
  3. Teeth Small pegs with no enamel, all alike. There are none at the front of the jaws.
  4. Cervical vertebrae The neck vertebrae. Several are joined into one block; the first stays free.
  5. Scapula A shoulder blade with a long, curved process called the acromion.
  6. Thoracic vertebrae The chest vertebrae, each with a pair of ribs.
  7. Ribs Broad, flat ribs. The first pair is the broadest of all.
  8. Lumbar vertebrae Loin vertebrae with tall processes that hold up the shell. Extra joints lock each one to the next.
  9. Sacrum A long row of joined vertebrae. The hip bone is fixed to it in front and behind.
  10. Pelvis A hip bone joined to the backbone at two places. Its ilium meets the sacrum in front, its ischium behind.
  11. Caudal vertebrae The tail vertebrae, getting smaller toward the tip.
  12. Clavicle A strong collarbone, well developed in every armadillo.
  13. Humerus A short, stout upper arm bone with big ridges for digging muscles.
  14. Radius One of the two forearm bones. It stays separate from the ulna.
  15. Ulna The forearm bone with a long, strong elbow end, the olecranon.
  16. Ungual phalanges (claw bones) The last bone of each toe, large and strong. It carries a digging claw.
  17. Femur A short, broad thigh bone. A third trochanter sticks out from its side.
  18. Tibia and fibula The two bones of the lower leg, joined at both ends. They bow apart in the middle.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-10-01, for facts only and with nothing copied: (1) W. H. Flower, An Introduction to the Osteology of the Mammalia, third edition, 1885 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/introductiontoos1885flow; (2) a university museum's species account of the nine-banded armadillo, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dasypus_novemcinctus/; (3) the same museum's accounts of the armadillo family and its order, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dasypodidae/ and https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cingulata/; (4) Wikipedia, Armadillo; (5) F. E. Beddard, Mammalia, 1902 (public domain), the armadillo family, https://archive.org/details/mammalia00bedd; (6) Wikipedia, Xenarthra. A name that only one source gives is left out of the parts. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the armadillo skeleton, write a name on the line for each number. The skeleton is seen from its left side, under the dotted line of the shell.

Read the full guide

Armadillo skeleton word bank

In alphabetical order: caudal vertebrae, cervical vertebrae, clavicle, femur, humerus, lumbar vertebrae, mandible, pelvis, radius, ribs, sacrum, scapula, skull, teeth, thoracic vertebrae, tibia and fibula, ulna, ungual phalanges (claw bones).

Where each number ends

Along the top, 4, 6, 8 and 9 end on the backbone, neck to hips; 8 is the stretch with the tall bars that reach up to the dotted shell. At the left, 1 ends on the skull, 3 on the row of small pegs and 2 on the jaw under them. Along the bottom, 14 and 15 end on the two bones of the forearm, 16 on a front claw and 18 on the lower hind leg. 12 ends on the small bone in front of the shoulder joint.

  • When marking, lower jaw is right on line 2, hip bone on line 10, collarbone on line 12 and tibia alone on line 18.
  • The dotted arch over the back is the shell. Its shields and bands are named on the labeled armadillo page.
  • The breastbone and the bones of the wrists, ankles and feet are drawn, but have no number.

Questions and answers

Can a nine-banded armadillo roll into a ball?

No. Only the three-banded armadillos of South America roll up into a ball. The other kinds, the nine-banded armadillo on this worksheet among them, have too many plates to do it.

What does the word armadillo mean?

Little armored one, in Spanish. The name comes from armadura, the Spanish word for armor, with an ending that means little.

How many toes does a nine-banded armadillo have?

Four on each front foot and five on each hind foot. Every toe has a strong claw, and the middle claws are the largest. The claw bones are number 16 on the worksheet.

Is an armadillo a mammal or a reptile?

A mammal. Armadillos are placental mammals, in the order Cingulata. Their young are born with soft, leathery skin, which hardens within a few weeks.

More quizzes

Show 7 more

Browse Science Quizzes