Brazil's 2014 FIFA World Cup mascot, a blue and yellow armadillo...now officially has a name. Following an online vote, the armadillo was baptized on Sunday as "Fuleco", a word which organisers say transmits a message of environmental awareness.

Women pose with "Fuleco" armadillo mascot of the 2014 World Cup during the opening ceremony of the Soccerex 2012 Soccer Business Fair in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 26, 2012. [Xinhua]

The name of the three-banded armadillo, an endangered species indigenous to Brazil, was announced on national television. The name Fuleco was chosen by 48 percent of the 1.7 million votes, trumping the two other options, Zuzeco and Amijubi. While nature's version is light brown in color, FIFA's armadillo is yellow with green eyes and a blue shell - the colours of the Brazilian flag - and will be holding a football. Three-banded armadillos live mainly in Brazil's arid northeast and are threatened by destruction to their natural environment. They are unusual among armadillos in that they can roll up into a ball to defend themselves from predators.

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