Fecal samples of two species of armadillos Euphractus sexcinctus (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae), kept in captivity were analysed by direct and sedimentation methods. Entamoeba histolytica Schaudinn, 1903 and E. coli Grassi, 1879 (Amoebida, Endamoebidae) cysts were observed, the former for the first time in armadillos. This parasitism is worthy of registration in the literature because of the possibility of transmission to the human being when these animals are kept in captivity.
Armadillo; Euphractus sexcinctus; Entamoeba histolytica; Entamoeba coli