Long-nosed armadillos

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Long-nosed armadillos
Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus )

Systematics
Superordinate : Sub-articulated animals (Xenarthra)
Order : Armored siderails (Cingulata)
without rank: Armadillos (Dasypoda)
Family : Dasypodidae
Subfamily : Dasypodinae
Genre : Long-nosed armadillos
Scientific name of the  family
Dasypodidae
JE Gray , 1821
Scientific name of the  subfamily
Dasypodinae
JE Gray, 1821
Scientific name of the  genus
Dasypus
Linnaeus , 1758

The long-nosed or soft armadillos ( Dasypus ) are a genus of mammals with seven species from the group of armadillos (Dasypoda). This genus also includes the nine-banded armadillo, which is probably the best-known and the only one of this group that also occurs in North America, all other representatives are only common in South America. These armadillos live in open grass and bush or in closed forest landscapes and feed mainly on insects . They sometimes create widely branched, underground burrows and are active during the day or at night, depending on the species. The tribal history of the long-nosed armadillos dates back to the Pliocene more than 2.5 million years ago, but there are only a few fossil records .

description

The bone shields of the solid back armor are typically round or rosette-shaped

Long-nosed armadillos are small to large armadillos with head-trunk lengths of 24 to 57 cm and a weight of 1 to 10 kg, fossil species were sometimes larger. The tail length is usually at least half the length of the body. Characteristic is the head with a remarkably long, pointed snout, which often takes up more than 50% of the total length of the skull. The dentition consists of atypical tooth formations that are not characteristic of mammals and that have no enamel and only one root. Both in the upper and in the lower jaw there are 7 to 9 such teeth in each half of the jaw, a total of 28 to 36. The back armor, which is mostly smooth, high and clearly rounded and usually yellowish-brown in color, has six to eleven movable segments or bands between a solid shoulder and a pelvic part. On the rigid armor parts it consists of round to rosette-shaped, on the movable parts of square bone platelets, so-called osteoderms . The armor structure is covered by small horn shields of rounded (firm armor) or triangular shape (bands) with a tip pointing backwards. The horny shields of the long-nosed armadillos encircle several bone platelets on the solid shell, which sometimes creates an irregular and not strictly linear pattern. In addition, the long-nosed armadillos have armor on the top of the head and in the pelvic area. The long tail is usually surrounded by 12 to 15 rings of bones, often consisting of two rows of small bone plates; these bone rings take up two thirds of the tail length, the end of the tail is pointed. The legs are relatively short, the long-nosed armadillos have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their hind feet, all with sharp claws, only the Kappler armadillo still has a rudimentary front fifth toe. A total of four mammary glands appear, one pair behind the front legs and a second in front of the hind legs.

distribution

The range of the long-nosed armadillos stretches from the southern USA to southern South America , making them the most widespread genus of armadillos. Open landscapes such as savannas and steppes , but also tropical rainforests and mountain cloud forests , often serve as living space .

Way of life

Southern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus hybridus )

Territorial behavior

These animals are usually solitary and both diurnal and nocturnal. They live in self-dug, up to 7 m long, underground burrows and leave them mainly to look for food. Several animals can share a burrow, in general they are not territorial and have no fixed territory, but there are home ranges of up to 12 hectares in size. The long-nosed armadillos can run quickly and are sometimes good swimmers. In the event of an attack, they will try to escape into their den. If this is not possible, they lie down on the ground to protect their soft belly from attackers and ram their claws into the ground, which means they can hardly be moved.

food

Long-nosed armadillos feed primarily on ants , termites and beetles , but they also eat other insects and spiders , and overall they are more opportunistic insectivores. Occasionally small vertebrates and bird eggs are also eaten . Furthermore, the absorption of sand and clay is known, which serves to balance the mineral balance.

Reproduction

After a gestation period of up to 140 days, the female gives birth to four to twelve young animals that weigh between 40 and 85 g. These are weaned after around three months and are sexually mature at around one year. The life expectancy of the long-nosed armadillos is likely to be twelve to fifteen years. What is remarkable about these armadillo representatives is the delayed implantation of the egg , which begins under stress conditions . As a result, the young can sometimes only be born up to 32 months after the last fertilization . Polyembryonia is also known, including in the nine-banded armadillo, which always gives birth to four genetically identical young animals.

Systematics

Internal systematics of the armadillos according to Gibb et al. 2015
  Dasypoda  
  Dasypodidae  

 Dasypus


  Chlamyphoridae  
  Euphractinae  

 Euphractus


   

 Chaetophractus


   

 Zaedyus




   
  Chlamyphorinae  

 Chlamyphorus


   

 Calyptophractus



  Tolypeutinae  

 Priodontes


   

 Tolypeutes


   

 Cabassous







Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The dasypus ( Dasypus ) constitute a genus within the family is the Dasypodidae who studies dating back to 2015, according to one of the two families of armadillos forms (Dasypoda). The armadillos, in turn, belong to the order of the armored collateral animals (Cingulata). The Dasypodidae are considered recently monotypic , but contain numerous extinct forms. These fossil relatives include Stegotherium , which is largely known from the Miocene and comprised several species, as well as Anadasypus from the Middle Miocene. Further genera are Pliodasypus from the Pliocene and Propraopus from the Pleistocene . Anadasypus , Propraopus and Pliodasypus are much more closely related to Dasypus , the latter two form the sister group , and together with this they form the tribe Dasypodini , Stegotherium is somewhat outside of the family line and belongs to the tribe Stegotheriini . According to molecular genetic studies, the Dasypodidae had separated from the lines of the other armadillos in the Middle Eocene around 45 million years ago. The Chlamyphoridae , which include all other genera of today's armadillos, are considered to be the closest related group . Overall, the long-nosed armadillos and their close relatives can be regarded as one of the most primitive groups within the armadillos and armored articulated animals based on morphological characteristics and genetic analyzes.

As a rule, a distinction is made between seven species that are still alive today, which belong to three different subgenera:

  • Subgenus Dasypus Linnaeus, 1758
Internal systematics of the long-nosed armadillos according to Gibb et al. 2015
  Dasypus  
  D. (hyperoambon)  

 Dasypus kappleri


  D. (Dasypus)  


 Dasypus septemcinctus


   

 Dasypus hybridus



   

 Dasypus novemcinctus (French Guiana)


   


 Dasypus mazzai


   

 Dasypus sabanicola



   

 Dasypus novemcinctus


  D. (Cryptophractus)  

 Dasypus pilosus 







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  • Subgenus Hyperoambon Peters, 1864
  • Subgenus Cryptophractus Fitzinger, 1856

The following fossil types are also distinguished:

It is sometimes discussed whether the fur armadillo, due to differing morphological and anatomical features, may belong to an independent genus, which would then be called Cryptophractus , which would also correspond to the original name of Leopold Fitzinger . The demand for a separate genus status has arisen several times; studies on phylogenesis with the help of skeletal anatomical features, presented in 2015, support this. A molecular genetic study from the same year contradicts this, however, and sees the fur armadillo anchored deep in the genus Dasypus . With regard to the nine-banded armadillo, according to the same genetic study, a population from French Guiana could represent an independent species that had separated from the actual line of the nine-banded armadillo and its immediate relatives around 3.7 million years ago. The independence of the Guiana group could also be proven through the evaluation of skull morphological data. According to further genetic studies, the Yungas armadillo is identical to the savanna armadillo, so that the latter form would have to be incorporated into the former. The new, more extensive species would then consist of several populations separated by up to 3000 km.

A systematic revision of the long-nosed armadillos based on anatomical features from 2018, taking into account over 2120 individuals of the genus, recognizes a total of eight species, contrary to the classical structure shown above. The Kappler armadillo was split up into three species (the proposal was submitted in 2016, but the majority of specialist scientists have not followed it so far). The southern seven-banded armadillo, however, suggested the authors of the revision to the seven-banded armadillo as a subspecies. As a result of this 2018 study, the long-nosed armadillos would be divided as follows:

  • Dasypus beniensis Lönnberg , 1942
  • Dasypus kappleri Krauss , 1862
  • Dasypus mazzai Yepes , 1933
  • Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus , 1758
  • Dasypus pastasae ( Thomas , 1901)
  • Dasypus pilosus ( Fitzinger , 1856)
  • Dasypus sabanicola Mondolfi , 1968
  • Dasypus septemcinctus Linnaeus , 1758

Tribal history

The armored articulated animals are the oldest known representatives of the articulated animals (Xenarthra) and have already been proven from the paleogene of today's Brazil . The genus Dasypus is much younger and also generally a rather rare fossil fauna element. According to molecular genetic studies, the Kappler armadillo separated from the common line with the other representatives of the long-nosed armadillos about 12 million years ago in the Upper Miocene, and the genus was further diversified about 5 million years ago in the transition from the Miocene to the Pliocene . The genus Dasypus is believed to have originated in the northern part of South America, as several closely related forms were common here at the time of origin in question. Finding a single bone plate from a movable ligament from the Conglomerado osífero of the Ituzaingó Formation in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos appears problematic . The Conglomerado osífero is placed in the late Miocene, but both in its assignment to Dasypus and in the exact age classification of the bone plate is controversial, since it could possibly also be relocated from higher strata. The oldest unambiguous remains date from the Pliocene over 2.5 million years ago and are generally assigned to Dasypus bellus , the "beautiful armadillo". They are documented from Florida and Nebraska , among others . Dasypus bellus , a species that is now extinct, was distributed over large parts of South America and eastern North America and is often associated with the nine-banded armadillo, but was significantly larger and reached up to 18 kg body weight in the late phase of its appearance. Recent studies also see a closer connection to the Kappler armadillo. In the late Pleistocene , the extinct species Dasypus punctatus was found , mainly in Brazil, where it was the earliest record of the entire genus in South America. This species is also certified to have a close position to the Kappler armadillo. Both fossil species today disappeared towards the end of the Pleistocene 10,000 years ago.

Although today's long-nosed armadillos represent the most diverse group of armadillos, the remains of the recent representatives from the Pleistocene are hardly known, with the exception of the savannah armadillo, which lived in Venezuela around 25,000 years ago. Individual, very robust remains from southern Brazil, which are probably associated with the Kappler armadillo, are of a similar age. From central Brazil, on the other hand, individual bone platelets of the nine-banded armadillo have been reported from cave sites of the Late Pleistocene. Investigations of fossil material, including from the Medford Cave in Florida, also confirm the presence of the nine-banded armadillo in the late Pleistocene in North America, the species possibly also appeared here in the early Holocene . The current distribution of the long-nosed armadillos is in part a result of recent times. The first records of the nine-banded armadillo in the USA are known from 1849. Since then, this species has spread over large parts of southeastern North America and, as the first representative of the armadillos, has colonized the northern continent of America again for 10,000 years after the end of the last ice age. It is not yet clear why this armadillo species reappeared here so late, as it was detected in Mexico much earlier.

Taxonomy and Etymology

The genus name Dasypus is of Greek origin and was introduced by Linnaeus in 1758. It is a translation of the Aztec word Azotochtli , which means something like "turtle hare". The word comes from the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba as the name for the nine-banded armadillo and refers to the appearance of the animals. Linnaeus found the word unsuitable for a Latinization , which is a prerequisite for the binary scientific name formation introduced by him in his work Systema Naturae , and therefore created a Greek word with the same meaning (tautology). The Spanish word mulita , which is often used in the region, means "little donkey" and is reminiscent of the donkey-like ears.

Long-nosed armadillos and humans

Vectors of disease

The long-nosed armadillos are sometimes considered to be disease carriers. The nine-banded, southern seven-banded and the savanna armadillo are important hosts of Mycobacterium leprae , which can cause leprosy in humans. In North America, 4.1 to 4.7% of the individual populations are affected. Whether the armadillo actually transmits the disease to humans is controversial; leprosy has been endemic in the US state of Louisiana since around the 1850s, but the nine-banded armadillo was first observed there in the 1920s. The long-nosed armadillos are also infected with Trypanosoma cruzi , which is considered to be the cause of Chagas disease, which is common in South America . Here, too, a transmission route via armadillos is not certain, since a different form occurs in these, which has hardly ever been demonstrated in humans. Long-nosed armadillos are often kept as laboratory animals for examination.

Threat and protection

The various species of long-nosed armadillos are often hunted and serve as a food resource. In some cases, they are also considered a nuisance, digging holes or burrows in agricultural areas on their search for food, which could potentially injure farm animals. More serious for the long-nosed armadillos is the destruction of habitats through the spread of human settlements and cultivated areas, which so often cause dwindling populations. Some of the species, such as the nine-banded, seven-banded, Kappler and savanna armadillos are currently not threatened, while the southern seven-banded armadillo is classified as low endangered by the IUCN . However, the fur armadillo is considered endangered, while the Yungas armadillo cannot be given due to data gaps. The long-nosed armadillos are found in numerous protected areas on the two American continents.

literature

  • CM McDonough and WJ Laughry: Dasypodidae (Long-nosed armadillos). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 30–47 ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfredo A. Carlini, Martín Ricardo Ciancio, John J. Flynn, Gustavo J. Scillato ‐ Yané and André R. Wyss: The phylogenetic and biostratigraphic significance of new armadillos (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Dasypodidae, Euphractinae) from the Tinguirirican (early oligocene ) of Chile. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 7 (4), 2009, pp. 489-503
  2. ^ Matthew K. Vickaryous and Brian K. Hall: Osteoderm Morphology and Development in the Nine-Banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Cingulata). Journal of Morphology 267 (11), 2006, pp. 1273-1283
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Mariella Superina: Biology and keeping of armadillos (Dasypodidae). University of Zurich, 2000, pp. 1–248
  4. ^ A b Paul Smith: The Xenarthra famalies Myrmecophagidae and Dasypodidae. Fauna Paraguay Handbook of the Mammals of Paraguay 2012, pp. 1-35
  5. ↑ a b c d e Gillian C. Gibb, Fabien L. Condamine, Melanie Kuch, Jacob Enk, Nadia Moraes-Barros, Mariella Superina, Hendrik N. Poinar and Frédéric Delsuc: Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference Phylogenetic Framework and Timescale for Living Xenarthrans . Molecular Biology and Evolution 33 (3), 2015, pp. 621-642
  6. ↑ Timothy J. Gaudin and John R. Wible: The phylogeny of living and extinct armadillos (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Cingulata): a craniodental analysis. In: Matthew T. Carrano, Timothy J. Gaudin, Richard W. Blob, and John R. Wible (Eds.): Amniote Paleobiology: Phylogenetic and Functional Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds and Reptiles. Chicago 2006, University of Chicago Press, pp. 153-198
  7. ↑ Laureano Raúl González Ruiz and Gustavo Juan Scillato-Yané: A new Stegotheriini (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) from the “Notohippidian” (early Miocene) of Patagonia, Argentina. New Yearbook for Geology and Paleontology, Abhandlungen 252 (1), 2009, pp. 81–90
  8. ↑ a b Ascanio D. Rincón, Richard S. White and H. Gregory McDonald: Late Pleistocene Cingulates (Mammalia: Xenarthra) from Mene De Inciarte Tar Pits, Sierra De Perijá, Western Venezuela. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28 (1), 2008, pp. 197-207
  9. ^ A b Mariela C. Castro, Ana Maria Ribeiro, Jorge Ferigolo, and Max C. Langer: Redescription of Dasypus punctatus Lund, 1840 and considerations on the genus Propraopus Ameghino, 1881 (Xenarthra, Cingulata). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 (2), 2013, pp. 434-447
  10. ^ A b Mariela C. Castro, Alfredo A. Carlini, Rodolfo Sánchez and Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra: A new Dasypodini armadillo (Xenarthra: Cingulata) from San Gregorio Formation, Pliocene of Venezuela: affinities and biogeographic interpretations. Natural Sciences 101, 2014, pp. 77–86
  11. ↑ a b Mariela C. Castro, Martín R. Ciancio, Victor Pacheco, Rodolfo M. salas-Gismondi, J. Enrique Bostelmann and Alfredo A. Carlini: Reassessment of the hairy long-nosed armadillo “Dasypus” pilosus (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) and revalidation of the genus Cryptophractus Fitzinger, 1856. Zootaxa 3947 (1), 2015, pp. 30-48, doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa.3947.1.2
  12. ↑ Mariella Superina and John M. Aguiar: A Reference List of common names for the edentates. Edentata 7, 2006, pp. 33-44
  13. ^ A b Agustín Manuel Abba and Mariella Superina: The 2009/2010 Armadillo Red List Assessment. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, pp. 135-184
  14. ↑ Sergio F. Vizcaíno: Identificación específica de las mulitas, género Dasypus L. (Mammalia, Dasypodidae), del noroeste argentino. Descripción de una nueva especie. Mastozoologia Neotropical 2 (1), 1995, pp. 5-13
  15. ^ Leopold Joseph Fitzinger: Tageblatt of the 32nd Assembly of German Natural Scientists and Doctors in Vienna, 1856, p. 123 ( [1] )
  16. ↑ edentate Specialist Group: The 2004 Edentata species assessment workshop, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, December 16-17, 2004. Edentata 5, 2004, pp 3-26
  17. Jump up ↑ Lionel Hautier, Guillaume Billet, Benoit de Thoisy and Frédéric Delsuc: Beyond the carapace: skull shape variation and morphological systematics of long-nosed armadillos (genus Dasypus). PeerJ 5, 2017, p. E3650, doi: 10.7717 / peerj.3650
  18. ↑ Agustín M. Abba, Guillermo H. Cassini, Juan I. Túnez and Sergio F. Vizcaíno: The enigma of the Yepes' armadillo: Dasypus mazzai, D. novemcinctus or D. yepesi? Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, NS 20 (1), 2018, pp. 83-90
  19. ↑ Anderson Feijó and Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela: Taxonomic revision of the Dasypus kappleri complex, with revalidations of Dasypus pastasae (Thomas, 1901) and Dasypus beniensis Lönnberg, 1942 (Cingulata, Dasypodidae). Zootaxa 4170 (2), 2016, pp. 271–297 ( [2] )
  20. ↑ CM McDonough and WJ Laughry: Dasypodidae (Long-nosed armadillo). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 30–47 ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  21. ↑ Anderson Feijó, Bruce D. Patterson and Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela: Taxonomic revision of the long-nosed armadillos, Genus Dasypus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia, Cingulata). PLoS ONE 13 (4), 2018, p. E0195084, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0195084
  22. ↑ Frederic Delsuc, Mariella Superina, Marie-Ka Tilak, Emmanuel JP Douzery and Alexandre Hassanin: Molecular phylogenetics unveils the ancient evolutionary origins of the enigmatic fairy armadillos. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62, 2012, pp. 673-680
  23. ↑ Gustavo J. Scillato-Yané, Flávio Góis, Alfredo E. Zurita, Alfredo A. Carlini, Laureano R. González Ruiz, Cecilia M. Krmpotic, Cristian Oliva and Martín Zamorano: Los ingulata (Mammalia, Xenarthra) del Conglomerado osífero (Mioceno Tardío) de la Formación Ituzaingó de Entre Ríos, Argentina. In: Diego. Brandoni and JI Noriega (eds.): El Neógeno de la Mesopotamia argentina. Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Publicación Especial 14, 2013, pp. 118-134
  24. ↑ Gerardo Carbot-Chanona: The First Record of Dasypus (Xenarthra: Cingulata: Dasipodidae) in the Late Pleistoceneof México. Current Research in the Pleistocene 27, 2010, pp. 164-166
  25. ^ H. Gregory McDonald: Paleoecology of extinct Xenarthans and the Great American Biotic Interchange. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 45 (4), 2005, pp. 313-333
  26. ↑ Édison V. Oliviera and Jamil C. Pereira: Intertropical Cingulates (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Quaternary of southern Brazil: Systematics and paleobiogeographical aspects. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 12 (3), 2009, pp. 167-178
  27. ↑ Esteban Soibelzon, LS Avilla and M. Castro: The cingulates (Mammalia: Xenarthra) from the late Quaternary of northern Brazil: Fossil records, paleoclimates and displacements in America. Quaternary International 377, 2015, pp. 118–125, doi: 10.1016 / j.quaint.2015.02.052
  28. ↑ Paulo V. Oliveira, Ana Maria Ribeiro, Édison V. Oliveira and Maria Somália S. Viana: The Dasypodidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Urso Fóssil Cave (Quaternary), Parque Nacional de Ubajara, State of Ceará, Brazil: paleoecological and taxonomic aspects. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 86 (1), 2014, pp. 147–158
  29. ↑ Beth Shapiro, Russell W. Graham, and Brandon Leets: A revised evolutionary history of armadillos (Dasypus) in North America based on ancient mitochondrial DNA. Boreas 2014, doi: 10.1111 / bor.12094
  30. ^ A b Karen McBee and Robert J. Baker: Dasypus novemcinctus. Mammalian Species 162, 1982, pp. 1-9

Web links

Commons : Dasypus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files