[4] The carapace varies from light yellow to near-black, and consists of heavy scapular and pelvic shields composed of rectangular osteoderms, and separated by six to eight movable bands.

[4] Females have two teats, located in the chest region, and, like most armadillos, lack a true vagina, instead having a single urogenital sinus about 18 mm (0.71 in) in length.

[6] Pichis are found from central and southern Argentina (Patagonia), west to the Andean grasslands of Chile, and south to the Strait of Magellan.

Within this region, it most commonly inhabits arid or semiarid steppe grasslands, but may be found in other environments if they have sandy soils suitable for burrowing.

[1] Pichis are omnivorous, with the largest part of their diet consisting of invertebrates such as beetles, ants, and scorpions, though they will also eat small mammals or lizards, as well as plant material and fungi.

In addition to true hibernation, they also enter a period of daily torpor, lasting up to four hours each night, during which their body temperature can drop to as low as 24 °C (75 °F).

The burrows have a dome-shaped entrance and a single passage that can reach several metres in length, before terminating in a bare, unlined, resting chamber.

When threatened, they wedge themselves into their shallow burrow making it difficult for an attacker to drag them out because of their jagged scales, or else lie flat on the ground to protect their vulnerable belly.