What is "armadillo"

Armadillo \Ar`ma*dil"lo\ ([aum]r`m[.a]*d[i^]l"l[-o]), n.; pl. Armadillos (-l[=o]z). [Sp. armadillo, dim. of armado armed, p. p. of armar to arm. So called from being armed with a bony shell.] (Zo["o]l.)

1. Any edentate animal if the family Dasypid[ae], peculiar to America. The body and head are incased in an armor composed of small bony plates. The armadillos burrow in the earth, seldom going abroad except at night. When attacked, they curl up into a ball, presenting the armor on all sides. Their flesh is good food. There are several species, one of which (the peba) is found as far north as Texas. See Peba, Poyou, Tatouay.

2. A genus of small isopod Crustacea that can roll themselves into a ball.

1570s, from Spanish armadillo, diminutive of armado "armored," from Latin armatus, past participle of armare "to arm" (see arm (n.2)). So called for its hard, plated shell.

n. Any of a family of burrowing mammals covered with bony, jointed, protective plates, genus ''Dasypus''.

n. burrowing chiefly nocturnal mammal with body covered with strong horny plates

Armadillos are New World placental mammals with a leathery armour shell. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo means "little armoured one" in Spanish. The Aztecs called them āyōtōchtli , Nahuatl for "turtle-rabbit": āyōtl (turtle) and tōchtli (rabbit).

About nine extant genera and 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armour. Their average length is about , including tail. The giant armadillo grows up to and weighs up to , while the pink fairy armadillo is a diminutive species, with an overall length of . All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of different environments.

Recent genetic research suggests that an extinct group of giant armoured mammals, the glyptodonts, should be included within the lineage of armadillos, having diverged some 35 million years ago, much more recently than previously assumed.

Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez), is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

is a NES/Famicom platform video game, published by IGS in 1991.

An armadillo is a mammal with an armored shell.

Armadillo may also refer to:

Armadillo is William Boyd's seventh novel, published in 1998. It was the first of his novels to be based in Britain. Boyd also wrote the screenplay for a BBC/ A&E television adaptation in 2001.

Armadillo was a 2001 two part television film starring James Frain, directed by Howard Davies and based on William Boyd's novel of the same name. Boyd also served as the screenwriter for the show.

Armadillo is a web-based magazine founded by Mary Hoffman and managed by her daughter Rhiannon Lassiter. The current editor is Louise Ellis-Barrett, the web editor is Andrea Rayner. Linda Newbery edits the Teen Reviews page and Adele Geras is the resident poetry reviewer. Its purpose is to promote children's books through reviews and articles, many of which are written by significant children's authors such as Linda Newbery, Adele Geras and Celia Rees, as well as Hoffman herself. Reviewers include children's librarians and many people who have experience in the publishing world. The magazine has grown in recent years to include event repors, special features and competitions, generously supported by publishers.

Armadillo was founded in 1999 as a print-based magazine, but moved to its current web-based format in 2004. Initially readership was by subscription, but in September 2007 the decision was taken to allow free access; Armadillo is now funded by donations. It is published quarterly in March, June, September and December.

Armadillo aims to be an independent voice promoting children's literature to children and adults. It is supported by a weekly Blog in which Louise Ellis-Barrett and her team contribute reviews, event reports, feature author exclusives, and author tours.

Armadillo is a linear algebra software library for the C++ programming language. It aims to provide efficient and streamlined base calculations, while at the same time having a straightforward and easy-to-use interface. Its intended target users are scientists and engineers.

It supports integer, floating point ( single and double precision), complex numbers, and a subset of trigonometric and statistics functions. Various matrix decompositions are provided through optional integration with Linear Algebra PACKage ( LAPACK) and Automatically Tuned Linear Algebra Software (ATLAS) libraries. High-performance LAPACK replacement libraries such as Math Kernel Library (MKL) and AMD Core Math Library (ACML) can also be used.

The library employs a delayed-evaluation approach (during compile time) to combine several operations into one and reduce (or eliminate) the need for temporaries. Where applicable, the order of operations is optimised. Delayed evaluation and optimisation are achieved through template metaprogramming.

Armadillo is related to the Boost Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (uBLAS) library, which also uses template metaprogramming. However, Armadillo builds upon ATLAS and LAPACK libraries, thereby providing machine-dependent optimisations and functions not present in uBLAS.

It is open-source software distributed under the Mozilla Public License, making it applicable for the development both open source and proprietary software. The project is supported by the NICTA research centre in Australia and is hosted by SourceForge.

Armadillo is a 2010 Danish documentary film about Danish soldiers in the war in Afghanistan directed by Janus Metz. The film follows a group of soldiers from the Guard Hussars Regiment who are on their first mission in Helmand Province at a forward operating base near Gereshk named FOB Armadillo. The film premièred at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. It was awarded the Grand Prix de la Semaine de la Critique.

The Semaine de la Critique screening described the film as "a journey into the soldiers' minds and a unique film on the mythological story of man and war staged in its contemporary version in Afghanistan".