The big hairy armadillo lives in grasslands, forests and other habitats in South America. Flexible bony plates cover its back, with hair beneath the plates and along the sides of the body.
Its back is covered by a bony carapace, with sparse, long black and brown hairs. The thin plates are flexible, and hair also grows along the sides of the body.
It is semifossorial and has a broad diet that includes both plant and animal matter.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.