Furry armadillo
| Furry armadillo | ||||||||||||
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Fur armadillo ( Dasypus pilosus ). Holotype specimen |
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| Dasypus pilosus | ||||||||||||
| ( Fitzinger , 1856) |
The fur armadillo ( Dasypus pilosus ) is a species of the long-nosed armadillos and is the only representative of this genus to have a dense fur made of bristle-like hair that covers the back armor. It is endemic to Peru , where it inhabits a small range in the cloud forests of the Andes . Little is known about the way of life of the armadillo. Their population is considered to be endangered, but exact data are not available.
features
Habitus
The fur armadillo has a total length of 59.3 to 75 cm, the tail occupies 24.5 to 26.8 cm and thus reaches 65 to 76% of the length of the rest of the body. The head-torso length is given as 40 to 44 cm. The weight varies from 1.4 to 2.3 kg. Males are on average slightly larger than females. The armadillo species is thus comparable to medium-sized representatives of the long-nosed armadillos . The head is much larger than this one and is 11.2 to 12.5 cm long. He has an egg-shaped shape in the side view with a long drawn out and cylindrical snout . The eyes are small, the ears are 3.5 to 5 cm long and are therefore very large. They have a spoon-like broad shape and stand close together. The forehead is covered by a head shield made of irregular, polygonal, randomly arranged bone plates. It is elongated and rhombic in outline, with a pointed end at the back. The trunk has a rather low and elongated cylindrical shape. The typical body armor has a firmer shoulder and pelvis, the latter being longer than the former. Between these two fixed shields there are eight to twelve, often eleven, movable straps, the front four of which, however, are more firmly anchored together. Overall, the armor consists of several rows of small bone plates, on the shoulder armor there are around 18, whereas those of the fixed armor have a more rounded shape, while those of the movable bands are square. The surface design of the individual platelets differs from that of other long-nosed armadillos. It is characterized by the lack of furrows, but numerous round openings (foramina) are formed that surround a central pattern on the bone platelets of the solid armor parts. Each plate has 30 to 35 of these foramina. On the labels of the movable belts, the openings are rather elongated. The carapace is colored yellowish-white and is covered by a dense, reddish to yellow-brown colored fur coat, so that it is only visible in the foremost area. The individual hairs arise from the small openings in the bone platelets. Otherwise, there is no distinct hairiness in long-nosed armadillos and is more pronounced here than in the bristle armadillos . The length of the hair is about 5 cm. The ventral side, which is covered by hexagonal bone plates, and the front of the legs, have less dense hair, as do the cheeks. The long tail is in turn enclosed in the front two-thirds of 7 to 11 whorl-shaped bone rings, each consisting of two rows of bone platelets. Sparsely distributed, short hair sprouts from the rear ends of the respective rings. The limbs are short and end in four rays at the front and five at the back. All toes have cone-shaped claws, only the middle of the front feet are long and narrow. The rear foot length varies from 7.1 to 8 cm.
Skeletal features
The skull becomes 10 to 11.1 cm long and 3.2 to 3.6 cm wide at the zygomatic arches . The very long rostrum , which runs straight when viewed from the side , takes up between 6.5 and 7.5 cm and is the relatively longest of all armadillos, is striking . On the parietal bone , a slight sometimes head crest designed a similar bone formation does not occur in the long nose armadillos otherwise. The palatal bone takes up to 74% of the length of the skull, which is mainly achieved by lengthening the upper jaw and the intermaxillary bone . In contrast to the other long-nosed armadillos, the middle ear is partially strongly ossified. The lower jaw has a clasp-like shape with only slightly ascending articular branches and thus shows a significantly more delicate structure than that of the other representatives of the long-nosed armadillos. Its length is 8 to 9.1 cm. The dentition differs from other mammals in the structure of the teeth . It has molar-like teeth shaped like nails or stakes without tooth enamel . There are 7 to 8 teeth in the upper jaw and 7 to 9 teeth per branch in the lower jaw, so the entire set of teeth consists of 28 to 34 teeth.
distribution and habitat
The range of the fur armadillo covers only a narrow strip along the Andes in the west and north of Peru , where it occurs at altitudes of 500 to 3000 m, but predominantly from 2600 to 3400 m above sea level. The extent of the area is very limited and is given as 53,000 square kilometers, with a total of only five locations from different departments of the country where the species has been observed in recent years. In 2016, individual animals were tracked down using camera traps on another . All of the individuals observed so far were in the vicinity of water points. Earlier assumptions about a far south-reaching distribution turned out to be wrong, they were mainly based on incorrect mappings from the 1980s. How large the range was in historical times is unknown, according to reports from the 18th and 19th centuries, the animal may have been found in Chile and Ecuador . Information on the size of the population is not available. The preferred habitats are the Yunga forests on the Andean slopes, subtropical to tropical mountain forests and mountain cloud forests. The fur armadillo can be found in areas with dense underground vegetation and limestone-rich underground.
Way of life
Since the fur armadillo is difficult to observe due to its rare and limited occurrence, there is practically no information on the way of life. The elongated snout allows for a more insect- based diet to be adopted. In a female museum specimen, four embryos were found in the uterus, another had a tick of the genus Ixodes in the fur.
Systematics
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Internal systematics of the armadillos according to Gibb et al. 2015
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The fur armadillo is usually placed as an independent species in the genus of the long-nosed armadillos ( Dasypus ), which include six other species. The long-nosed armadillos in turn form part of the group of armadillos (Dasypoda). The genus Dasypus forms its own family , the Dasypodidae . Several extinct genera are also included in the Dasypodidae. These include Stegotherium , which has been recorded from the Miocene and includes several species, and Propraopus from the Pleistocene , of which several species are also known. According to molecular genetic studies, the Dasypodidae separated from the line of other armadillos in the Middle Eocene around 45 million years ago, which is summarized in the family of the Chlamyphoridae and includes all other recent representatives of the armadillos.
It was first described in 1856 by Leopold Fitzinger as Cryptophractus pilosus , based on a museum specimen from Vienna . The animal was obviously already described as Dasypus octocinctus by Juan Ignacio Molina in his treatise on the natural history of Chile in 1782 , but he incorrectly stated the number of freely movable ligaments and the name is no longer recognized today. Only a few years after Fitzinger, in 1862, Hermann Burmeister described the armadillo species again and named it Praopus hirsutus , which is now a synonym for Dasypus pilosus . In the same publication he noted that in his opinion the closest related species was the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ), which he used to classify the furry armadillo in the vicinity of the long-nosed armadillos. Burmeister's description was based on two female specimens that he found in the National Museum in Lima during his stay in South America in 1860 and that came from Guayaquil in Ecuador , where the animal is no longer found today.
The name Cryptophractus , coined by Fitzinger , now also represents the subgenus name of the fur armadillo, but according to some researchers it should be used again as a scientific generic name. Phylogenetic examinations based on anatomical features, which were carried out in early 2015, revealed a very basal position of the furry armadillo compared to the long-nosed armadillos. The sometimes slightly different characteristics in terms of external morphology (fur, different design of the bone platelets) and internal anatomy (skull and skeletal features) supported the assignment of the armadillo to its own genus Cryptophractus . It was pointed out, however, that some of these different characteristics can also be viewed as a special adaptation to the habitat. The genetic tests requested in the study to verify the anatomically based results were published in the same year, but contradicted the conclusion that the furry armadillo would form a genus of its own.
Threat and protection
The fur armadillo is hunted locally, but there is no information about the intensity and degree of the resulting threat to the species population. Furthermore, the deforestation of the rainforests and the resulting disappearance of natural habitats are dangerous for the animal. The IUCN classified the species initially belt as "endangered" ( vulnerable ) that due to lack of information in general for the exact distribution, the size of the possible threat to the population and it is since 2014 "insufficient data" in ( data deficient performed). The most important occurrence of the fur armadillo is that of the Río Abiseo National Park in Peru.
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 (p. 46) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Leopold Joseph Fitzinger: The natural family of the armadillos (Dasypodes). Meeting reports of the methematic and natural science class of the Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Department 1 64, 1871, pp. 209–276 and 329–390
- ^ A b c Hermann Burmeister: Description of a hairy belt animal, Proapus hirsutus, from the National Museum in Lima. Treatises of the Natural Research Society in Halle, 6, 1862, pp. 147–150
- ↑ a b Mariella Superina: Biology and keeping of armadillos (Dasypodidae). University of Zurich, 2000, pp. 1–248
- ↑ a b c d e 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
- ↑ a b c C. M. 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 (p. 46) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
- ↑ E. Daniel Cossios and Pedro Huanca-Foroca: Nuevos registros de Huanuco (Peru) y distribución del potencial armadillo peludo (Dasypus pilosus). Edentata 20, 2019, pp. 22-25
- ↑ a b c Mariella Superina and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus pilosus. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, p. 162
- ↑ a b edentate Specialist Group: The 2004 Edentata species assessment workshop, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, December 16-17, 2004. Edentata 5, 2004, pp 3-26
- ↑ a b c 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ^ 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
- ↑ Maren Möller-Krull, Frédéric Delsuc, Gennady Churakov, Claudia Marker, Mariella Superina, Jürgen Brosius, Emmanuel JP Douzery and Jürgen Schmitz: Retroposed Elements and Their Flanking Regions Resolve the Evolutionary History of Xenarthran Mammals (Armadillos, Anteaters and Sloths). Molecular Biology and Evolution 24, 2007, pp. 2573-2582
- ↑ 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
- ^ Leopold Joseph Fitzinger: Tageblatt of the 32nd Assembly of German Natural Scientists and Doctors in Vienna, 1856, p. 123 ( [1] )
- ↑ Mariella Superina and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus pilosus. In: IUCN 2012: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. ( [2] ), last accessed on April 15, 2015
Web links
- Dasypus pilosus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2013. Posted by: Superina & Abba, 2006. Accessed April 15, 2015.