Armadillo

Hedgehog Cactus

                                                                                       DESCRIPTION 

Armadillos are mammals that are 6-10 inches tall and weigh 5-14 pounds which is about how much a turkey weighs.  They can be up to 2 feet long and so can their tails which adds up to a little less than four feet in total. Also they have plates in fact they are the only living mammals with plates. When a predator attacks their plates made out of bones and hard skin can protect them, but the North American armadillos cannot completely roll into their shell. The only type of armadillos that live in North America are the nine banded armadillos.

                                                                                       DESCRIPTION 

Hedgehog cacti are plants that have thorny stems that can grow to be 1 foot to 2 feet long. The stems are cylindrical with diameters that are up to 2.5 inches. The thorns can be up to 1 inch long and the stems often have bright, beautiful red flowers. As more and more stems grow the clump can spread 3 feet wide.

                                                                            Fun Facts and Adaptions 

Adaptations:

Armadillos have adapted long sticky tongues to scoop up prey. They have adapted also by getting water by eating beetles, ants and other household pests. Another way they have adapted is by growing plates to protect themselves from predators.

Fun facts:

1) Armadillos usually sleep 16 hours a day.

2) Armadillos can hold their breath under water for up to six minutes.

3) It is illegal to own an armadillo in Maine.

4) They're usually found in the Chihuahuan desert. 

5) Even though they're short they can jump 4 feet in the air.

Adaptations:

 Hedgehog cacti adapted to grow in clumps which helps them stay warm in cold temperatures. They also adapt by growing low to the ground to avoid sunlight. At  night the hedgehog cacti exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide and during the day the pores close and photosynthesis occurs, which keeps them cold in the scorching sun.

Fun facts:

1) Sometimes the hedgehog cacti shrink in the winter and then they grow back in the spring.

2)The hedgehog cacti's fruit is edible.

3)It can survive 7200 feet in the air.

4)The hedgehog cacti can survive up to -23 degrees Celsius or -9 Fahrenheit. .

5)They are found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. 

Mojave

The Mojave desert is a hot desert that occupies parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The Mojave desert  gets less than 13 inches of rain a year. Death valley ( the lowest point in the United States) is located in the Mojave desert. The only desert with the Joshua tree. This is the smallest of the four deserts.

Sonoran

The Sonoran desert is a hot desert. The Sonoran desert extends between Mexico, Arizona and California. It covers 120,000 square miles. The Sonoran desert is home to about 1000 bee species, 2000 plant species and over 560 other animal species. The largest city in the Sonoran desert is Phoenix, Arizona.

The Great Basin

This is  a cold desert that is in fact the largest desert in the US. It starts from the edge of the Sonoran and the Mojave and extends to the North close to the Rocky mountains, all the way to Wyoming. It is 190,000 squared miles and also covers parts of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, California, Utah. and Colorado .

Chihuahuan

The Chihuahuan is a hot desert and it is the largest desert in North America. It covers about 200,000 squared miles, but only a small part of it is in the US. It covers part of New Mexico. The temperature gets hot in the summer and it gets only about 10 inches of rainfall a year. The plants in the Chihuahuan are mostly bushes, like agave.