92 
Steven G. Platt and William E. Snyder 
concentration of records within this state. We believe these records 
strongly suggest that the nine-banded armadillo is now established 
in extreme southwestern South Carolina. 
The timing of this range extension into South Carolina remains 
speculative, but probably occurred within the past ten years. Humphrey 
(1974) places the northernmost range limit in the Coastal Plain near 
McIntosh County, Georgia, approximately 80 km south of the Savannah 
River. In the absence of physical or climatic barriers, an average invasion 
rate of four to 10 km per year has been estimated (Humphrey 1974). 
This model predicts an extension into South Carolina by the early 
to mid-1980’s. The Savannah River could have slowed immigration, 
but armadillos are known to cross major rivers by swimming or bottom 
walking (Talmage and Buchanan 1954). Wright (1982) did not find 
armadillos among mammals using gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus) 
burrows on Tillman Sand Ridge Natural Heritage Preserve, although 
they are reported to inhabit tortoise burrows elsewhere (Jackson and 
Milstrey 1989). Thus, we speculate armadillos did not become established 
in Jasper County until 1985 or later. This coincides with the 1985 
and 1986 records reported by Mayer (1989) further north in Aiken 
and Barnwell counties. Invasion is especially rapid in river valleys, 
and the Savannah River may be functioning as a dispersal corridor. 
Range expansion is expected throughout South Carolina, with the ex- 
ception of the mountainous northwestern corner of the state where 
low temperatures likely preclude overwinter survival (Humphrey 1974, 
Mayer 1989). 
CONCLUSIONS 
It appears that numbers of armadillos are present in at least one 
area of southwestern South Carolina. Further range expansion can 
be expected in the state, particularly throughout the Savannah River 
drainage and Coastal Plain. Henceforth the nine-banded armadillo should 
be considered an established member of South Carolina’s mammalian 
fauna. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS — Stanlee Miller provided access to the 
Clemson University Vertebrate Collection. John Scavo, Todd Kuntz, 
Hong Liu, and B. Anne Ditte assisted in field work. Comments by 
Richard R. Montanucci and David Lee greatly improved this manuscript. 
