4 
John J. Mayer 
South Carolina adjacent to the Savannah River, it is possible that some 
of these occurrences in the state represent natural range extensions. 
Humphrey (1974) noted that the nine-banded armadillo has a strong 
pioneering capability as indicated by the large number of extralimital 
records in its distribution. The results of Humphrey’s (1974) study also 
indicated that the distribution of the nine-banded armadillo had a lower 
limit of about 380 mm annual precipitation and an approximate upper 
limit of nine freeze-days per year (total number of days in a year during 
which the maximum daily temperature does not exceed 0 degrees 
Centigrade). Based on these data, Humphrey (1974) stated that the 
range extension of the nine-banded armadillo could be expected to 
reach at least the edge of the southern Appalachian piedmont in the 
southeastern United States. Records of climatic data for South Carolina 
from 1980 to 1985 (Anon. 1980-1985) indicate that the total annual 
precipitation ranges from 733 to 1,517 mm and the average annual 
number of freeze-days varies from 0 in southern South Carolina to 1 1 at 
Caesar’s Head in the mountains (Fig. 1). Using Humphrey’s climatic 
limiting factors, then, the nine-banded armadillo should be capable of 
expanding its range throughout most of South Carolina. The only areas 
that might be excluded would include the mountainous portions of the 
extreme northwestern edge of the state. 
In conclusion, reports of the nine-banded armadillo in South 
Carolina are increasing at present, but because direct evidence for the 
existence of an established viable population in South Carolina is 
lacking, its status in the state remains uncertain. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. — I thank the many respondents to my 
survey; Albert E. Sanders of the Charleston Museum (ChM) and 
Robert E. Dubos of the University of Connecticut Museum of Natural 
History (UCONN) for their helpful input; and I. Lehr Brisbin, Jr., 
Michael H. Smith, W. David Webster, Michael C. Kennedy, and James 
M. Novak for critically reading earlier drafts of this manuscript. This 
work was supported by Contract DE-AC09-76SROO8 19 between the 
Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia and the United States 
Department of Energy. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Anonymous. 1980-1985. Climatological Data for South Carolina. Vol. 83-88. 
NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, N.C. 
Bailey, H. H. 1924. The armadillo in Florida and how it reached there. J. 
Mammal. 5:264-265. 
