Nine-banded Armadillo

Nine-banded armadillos are the only armadillo species native to the United States, covered head to tail in bony, banded armor plates. Their range runs from South America north through Central America into the southern U.S., and it's been steadily pushing farther north for over a century. One genuinely strange trait: nine-banded armadillos almost always give birth to four genetically identical young from a single fertilized egg. They dig extensively for grubs, insects, and other invertebrates, and are one of the few mammals besides humans that can naturally contract and transmit leprosy — though passing it to people is rare.