Stomach contents from a sample of armadillos in Arkansas revealed that, in addition to feeding on numerous taxa of invertebrates, they also consume some vertebrates, such as small reptiles and amphibians, including salamanders. In these regions armadillos occupy woodland, bottomland, brushland, and savannah habitats where they are generalist foragers, apparently consuming any appropriately sized prey encountered during their searches of the leaf litter. Before the 1850s, the northern limit of the armadillo’s range was northern Mexico, but the removal of natural barriers and the addition of roadways and railways allowed the armadillo to expand northward through Texas and into Southern Oklahoma and Arkansas by the 1990s, the armadillo’s range included most of Missouri and parts of Kansas and Nebraska. The nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus) recently has experienced a relatively rapid period of range expansion. Alternatively, naïve prey may recognize cues (particularly chemical cues) from novel predators if the predators have recently eaten prey that are of the same or similar species (reviewed in ). For example, in some cases, prey recognize cues from introduced predators without experience, possibly because the cues are similar to cues from their native predators (“generalized predator recognition:” ). On the other hand, introduced predators may sometimes be less of a problem to native prey. On the one hand, prey may fail to respond appropriately to novel predators due to lack of recognition of danger. Predicting how prey respond to introduced predators is not always straight forward. These problems can be exacerbated by the inability of native species to recognize the threat imposed by invaders so that they fail to perform appropriate evasive or protective behaviors (e.g., ). Invasive species have been implicated as a factor in population declines and extinctions of many species.Whether due to introductions or range expansions, invasive species can present challenges to native fauna in the form of competition, predation, or introductions of disease or parasites. Additionally, individually consistent behaviors across treatments for some response variables suggest the potential for a behavioral syndrome in this species. When exposed to airborne cues from armadillos, salamanders also exhibited an antipredator response by spending more time in an inconspicuous posture. Salamanders appeared to recognize substrate cues from armadillos as a threat because they increased escape behaviors and oxygen consumption.

We tested whether Ozark zigzag salamanders ( Plethodon angusticlavius) from a population coexisting with armadillos for about 30 years exhibit antipredator behavior in the presence of armadillo chemical cues and whether they can discriminate between stimuli from armadillos and a nonpredatory sympatric mammal (white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus). Armadillos forage by searching soil and leaf litter, consuming invertebrates and small vertebrates, including salamanders.

The nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus) has recently expanded its range in North America. When new predators invade a habitat, either through range extensions or introductions, prey may be at a high risk because they do not recognize the predators as dangerous.

Armadillo predators