Central American bare-tailed armadillo

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Central American bare-tailed armadillo
Cabassous centralis (Miller, 1899) head from side.png

Central American bare- tailed armadillo ( Cabassous centralis )

Systematics
Order : Armored siderails (Cingulata)
without rank: Armadillos (Dasypoda)
Family : Chlamyphoridae
Subfamily : Tolypeutinae
Genre : Naked- tailed armadillos ( Cabassous )
Type : Central American bare-tailed armadillo
Scientific name
Cabassous centralis
( Miller , 1899)

The Central American bare-tailed armadillo or northern bare- tailed armadillo ( Cabassous centralis ) is a representative of the bare-tailed armadillos . Its main distribution area is Central America , but it can also be found in northwestern South America . The armadillo species mostly lives underground in burrows they dug themselves, as they are rarely seen, little is known about their further way of life. According to the IUCN , the armadillo populations are not currently threatened.

features

Habitus

The Central American bare - tailed armadillo reaches a head-torso length of 30.5 to 41.7 cm, the tail is 10.6 to 18.3 cm long. The weight is given as 2 to 3.8 kg. It is similar in physique to the other bare-tailed armadillos. Its armor, which is typical of armadillos, is characteristic. On the head, this consists of a triangular-shaped shield made of small, interconnected bone plates, the average number of which is 35. Unlike other bare-tailed armadillos, it has no protective bone platelets on its cheeks. The back armor is made up of a fixed shoulder and pelvis, between which there are twelve movable bands. This carapace is also made up of small bone platelets, some of which are arranged in rows, and are roughly square in shape. The number of platelets per row in the shoulder area increases from around 18 in the first to 27 in the last. The movable ligaments have an average of 28 bone shields in the middle areas, while the number in the pelvis decreases from the first (26) to the last row (8). The long, slender tail, on the other hand, is only sparsely covered with pink bone shields and is otherwise bare. The body armor is mostly dark gray in color, but has a yellowish sheen at the edges. A sparse coat of hair occurs only on the stomach side, with the hair here arranged in around 20 transverse rows. Furthermore, the Central American bare-tailed armadillo has a narrow head and widely spaced, funnel-shaped ears that are moderately large at 3.3 cm in length. In contrast, the eyes are very small. The quite short legs have about 6.5 cm long hind feet. Both the front and rear feet each have five clawed rays. The middle claw of the forefoot is particularly strong and sickle-shaped.

Skeletal features

The skull is up to 7.8 cm and at the outer ends of the zygomatic arches about 4.1 cm wide. Compared to the other bare-tailed armadillos, the rostrum is significantly narrower. The dentition does not correspond to that of most mammals and with its molar-like teeth has a different tooth formula . Each jaw arch has 7 to 9 teeth in the upper jaw and 7 to 10 teeth in the lower jaw, so a total of 28 to 38. The row of teeth in the upper jaw is 2.8 cm long, that of the lower jaw 2.6 cm, the individual teeth are on average 2.5 to 2.5 cm long 3 mm. The ulna is 5.8 cm long and has an extensive upper joint end measuring up to 2.7 cm. Such a construction of the forearm is typical of animals with a digging way of life.

Sensory performances and vocalizations

An animal that is disturbed makes various sounds that include a muffled growl or squeak.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area

The Central American bare-tailed armadillo is common in Central America and northern South America . The most northerly distribution center is the region of southeastern Chiapas , where evidence was first found in the early 1980s. Only in 2016 could the occurrence be shifted 75 km further north due to new sightings. In Guatemala bordering to the east , the armadillo species was mainly registered in the northern parts of the country. In South America it occurs from northern Ecuador via Colombia to northwestern Venezuela . The settlement area is given as 780,000 km², but the population density is unknown. The occurrence is also considered to be highly fragmented.

The armadillo species occurs in lowlands and in mountainous regions up to 1,800 m above sea level in Central America and up to 3,000 m above sea level in South America; the highest proven distribution point is 3018 m in the Colombian department of Antioquia . The animal prefers dry to moderately moist deciduous forests with partly rocky subsoil, in higher mountain regions the open Páramo landscape is also part of the habitat, in the lowlands tropical rainforests continue to belong . Due to the destruction of the landscape, the Central American bare-tailed armadillo can also be found in secondary forests and partly in agriculturally cultivated landscapes.

Way of life

General

The Central American bare-tailed armadillo is very rarely observed and is one of the least studied armadillos , so very little is known about their way of life. It is considered solitary and nocturnal. According to investigations in the Reserva de la Biósfera Montes Azules in the Mexican state of Chiapas , the activities in the dry season mainly take place between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. and in the rainy season between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. The animals mostly live underground in self-dug burrows. These are often buried in ants and termite burrows. Occasionally, unused shelters of other mammals are also sought out, such as the Paka , the Amazon Skunk , the Collared Peccary , the Northern Opossum or the nine-banded armadillo . In the case of the construction of species that do not primarily feed on insects, this is probably only used for protection, otherwise foraging probably also plays a role. When digging, the Central American bare-tailed armadillo rotates on itself so that the front body acts as a drill. On the surface of the earth it moves on the tips of the forefoot claws. It can also swim very well.

food

Similar to the other bare-tailed armadillos, a preference for insects , mainly ground-living ants and termites , is assumed as food . Interestingly, microscopic signs of wear on the tooth surfaces show a pattern that differs from that of other insectivores. About two-thirds of all examined teeth of the Central American naked-tailed armadillo show a grinding pattern, which indicates less abrasive food. A higher proportion of fruits or soft invertebrates in the food spectrum may play a role, which may be due to geographically different food offers.

Reproduction

Little is known about reproduction. Females give birth to one young per litter. The young animal is naked and has closed eyelids and auricles. The bone shields are already recognizable in their rows on the shell, but it is overall soft, shiny and pink, but the claws are already firmly formed. The tip of the nose and the lower jaw also appear very soft. The highest known life expectancy of an animal is just under 8 years, almost 6 of which it spent in human captivity.

Parasites

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis , a common and pathogenic representative of the fungi group in South America, was identified as an internal parasite in an animal in Colombia .

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  

 Cabassous tatouay


   

 Cabassous chacoensis


   

 Cabassous centralis


   

 Cabassous unicinctus










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The Central American bare-tailed armadillo belongs to the genus of bare- tailed armadillos ( Cabassous ). The naked tail armadillos comprise three other species . They are part of the group of armadillos (Dasypoda) and are assigned to the family of Chlamyphoridae and the subfamily of Tolypeutinae within this group. The most closely related forms are the giant armadillos ( Priodontes ) and the spherical armadillos ( Tolypeutes ). The group of Tolypeutinae forms the Schwestertaxon the Chlamyphorinae with the pink fairy armadillo , the Euphractinae with the bristle armadillo ( Chaetophractus ) and the six-banded armadillo ( Euphractus ) are related more distantly. According to molecular genetic studies, the Tolypeutinae and Chlamyphorinae already separated in the Oligocene 33 million years ago, from the early Miocene onwards the Tolypeutinae split more strongly. There are no known fossil recordings of the Central American bare-tailed armadillo.

Subspecies of the Central American bare-tailed armadillo are not known, so the species is monotypical. The armadillo was first described in 1899 by Gerrit Smith Miller under the scientific name Tatoua ( Ziphila ) centralis . Miller gave Chamelecon near the town of Cortes in Honduras as the type locality .

Threat and protection

No more severe human threats to the Central American Naked-tailed armadillo are known in relation to the entire range. A targeted hunt for the armadillo has not been proven due to the strong smell of the animal and popular belief , local hunting is only documented in the South American Andean region . Furthermore, individual animals die in traffic accidents, especially in areas more densely populated by humans; in Colombia the proportion is 2% of all major vertebrates killed by cars. Habitat losses are causing bigger problems due to the spreading agriculture , in Colombia alone more than 98% of the inhabited area was lost. However, it is unclear how strongly the species reacts to such changes; in many countries there are only a few official observations of the Central American bare-tailed armadillo, which means that there are large data gaps on the population in some areas. The IUCN currently classifies the population as “not endangered” ( least concern ). In some regions, the Central American Naked -tailed armadillo occurs in protected areas, such as the Reserva ecológica Cayapas-Mataje and the Reserva ecológica Manglares , both located in Ecuador.

literature

  • Virginia Hayssen, Jorge Ortega, Alberto Morales-Leyva, Norberto Martínez-Mendez: Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Dasypodidae). In: Mammalian Species. 898, 2013, pp. 12-17. ( Abstract )
  • Mariella Superina and Agustín Manuel Abba: Chlamyphoridae (Chlamyphorid 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. 48-71 (p. 70) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b SF Vizcaíno, N. Milne: Structure and function in armadillo limbs (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae). In: Journal of Zoology. 257, 2002, pp. 257, 117-127.
  2. ^ A b c d Alfred L. Gardner: Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats. University of Chicago Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-226-28240-4 , pp. 148-153.
  3. ↑ a b H. Hugh, Genoways, Robert M. Timm The Xenarthrans of Nicaragua. In: Mastozoologia Neotropical. 10 (2), 2003, pp. 231-253.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Virginia Hayssen, Jorge Ortega, Alberto Morales-Leyva, Norberto Martínez-Mendez: Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Dasypodidae). In: Mammalian Species. 898, 2013, pp. 12-17.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Mariella Superina, Agustín Manuel Abba: Chlamyphoridae (Chlamyphorid 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. 48-71 (p. 70) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4 .
  6. ^ Alfredo D. Cuarón, Ignacio J. March, Peter M. Rockstroh: A second armadillo (Cabassous centralis) for the fauna of Guatemala and Mexico. In: Journal of Mammalogy. 70 (4), 1898, pp. 870-871.
  7. ↑ a b Arturo Gonzáles-Zamora, Victor Arroyo-Rodríguez, Ana María Gonzáles-Di Pierro, Rafael Lombera, Erika de la Peña-Cuéllar, Juan Luis Peña-Mondragón, Omar Hernández-Ordoñez, Carlos Muench, Adriana Garmendia, Kathryn E. Stoner: The northern naked-tailed armadillo in the Laconda rainforest, Mexico: new records and potential threats. In: Revista Mexicana de Biodiversitsad. 82, 2011, pp. 581-586.
  8. ↑ Rugieri Juárez-López, Mariana Pérez-López, Yaribeth Bravata-de la Cruz, Alejandro Jesús de la Cruz, Fernando M. Contreras Moreno, Daniel Thornton, Mircea G. Hidalgo Mihart: Range Extension of the Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo (Cabassous centralis) in Southern Mexico. In: Western North American Naturalist. 77 (3), 2017, pp. 398-403.
  9. ^ A b José Manuel Pellecer, Julio Rafael Morales, Sergio Guillermo Pérez: Noteworthy records of the northern naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae), in Guatemala, Central America. In: Edentata. 20, 2019, pp. 17-21.
  10. ^ A b Juan F. Díaz-N., Camilo Sánchez-Giraldo: Notable altitudinal range extension of the northern naked-tailed armadillo Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) in Colombia. In: Brenesia. 69, 2008, pp. 75-76.
  11. ↑ a b c d D. Tirira, Juan Díaz-N .: Cabassous centralis. In: Edentata. 11 (2), 2010, p. 138.
  12. ↑ a b c Mariella Superina, Augusín M. Abba: Cabassous centralis. In: IUCN: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. ( [1] ) last accessed on January 15, 2013
  13. ↑ a b Avril Figueroa-de-León, Eduardo J. Naranjo, Antonio Santos-Moreno: Registros de Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) en la Reserva de la Biosfera Montes Azules y sitios aledaños, Chiapas, México. In: Edentata. 17, 2016, pp. 46-50.
  14. ↑ Jeremy L. Green: Dental microwear in the orthodentine of the Xenarthra (Mammalia) and its use in reconstructing the palaeodiet of extinct taxa: the case study of Nothrotheriops shastensis (Xenarthra, Tardigrada, Nothrotheriidae). In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 156, 2009, pp. 201-222.
  15. ^ GG Corredor, LA Peralta, JH Castaño, JS Zuluaga, B. Henao, M. Arango, AM Tabares, DR Matute, JG McEwen, A. Restrepo: The naked-tailed armadillo Cabassous centralis (Miller 1899): a new host to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. In: Medical Mycology. 43 (3), 2005, pp. 275-280.
  16. ↑ Virgínia Bodelão Richini-Pereira, Sandra de Moraes Gimenes Bosco, Raquel Cordeiro Theodoro, Severino Assis da Graça Macoris, Eduardo Bagagli: Molecular approaches for eco-epidemiological studies of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. In: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 104 (4), 2009, pp. 636-643.
  17. ↑ a b Gillian C. Gibb, Fabien L. Condamine, Melanie Kuch, Jacob Enk, Nadia Moraes-Barros, Mariella Superina, Hendrik N. Poinar, Frédéric Delsuc: Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference Framework Phylogenetic and Time Scale for Living Xenarthrans. In Molecular Biology and Evolution. 33 (3), 2015, pp. 621–642.
  18. ↑ Maren Möller-Krull, Frédéric Delsuc, Gennady Churakov, Claudia Marker, Mariella Superina, Jürgen Brosius, Emmanuel JP Douzery, Jürgen Schmitz: Retroposed Elements and Their Flanking Regions Resolve the Evolutionary History of Xenarthran Mammals (Armadillos, Anteaters and Sloths). In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 24, 2007, pp. 2573-2582.
  19. ↑ Frédéric Delsuc, Mariella Superina, Marie-Ka Tilak, Emmanuel JP Douzery, Alexandre Hassanin: Molecular phylogenetics unveils the ancient evolutionary origins of the enigmatic fairy armadillos. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62, 2012, pp. 673-680.
  20. ↑ Frédéric Delsuc, Sergio F Vizcaíno, Emmanuel JP Douzery: Influence of Tertiary paleoenvironmental changes on the diversification of South American mammals: a relaxed molecular clock study within xenarthrans. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. 4 (11), 2004, pp. 1-13.

Web links

Commons : Cabassous centralis  - collection of images, videos and audio files