Giant armadillo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Giant armadillo
Giant armadillo (preparation of the National Museum Prague)

Giant armadillo
(preparation of the National Museum Prague)

Systematics
Order : Armored siderails (Cingulata)
without rank: Armadillos (Dasypoda)
Family : Chlamyphoridae
Subfamily : Tolypeutinae
Genre : Priodontes
Type : Giant armadillo
Scientific name of the  genus
Priodontes
F. Cuvier , 1825
Scientific name of the  species
Priodontes maximus
( Kerr , 1792)

The giant armadillo ( Priodontes maximus ) is a mammalian species selected from the group of the armadillo (Dasypoda). It forms its own genus ( Priodontes ) and is the largest living representative of its family. The armadillo species occurs in a large area of South America east of the Andes , but is rather rare and thus occurs with only a very low population density . The giant armadillo inhabits both open landscapes and forests, digs earthworks and feeds almost exclusively on insects. Little is known about the reproduction of the animals. Since a clear decline in the population can be seen, the species is considered endangered, with hunting being seen as the greatest threat.

features

Habitus

With a head-torso length of 75 to 100 cm, plus a 48 to 60 cm long tail, a shoulder height of 46 to 49 cm and a weight of 18 to 45 kg (in human care even up to 80 kg), the giant armadillo is the largest living armadillo. However, females are on average smaller than males. The head is relatively small with a length of around 21 cm, the snout has a conical shape with a slightly rounded end and only a small mouth opening. The ears stand wide apart and are very short with a maximum of 6 cm. The head is covered by an oval-shaped shield made up of individual bone platelets. The back armor also consists of individual, square-shaped bone plates that are arranged in bands. It is about 80 cm long and measured across the curve up to 70 cm wide. In general, it is a little flattened and not as rigid as in other armadillos, nor does it extend so far down on the sides. As is typical for armadillos, it has two more solid parts, one above the shoulder and one above the pelvis. Between these there are 11 to 13 very flexible belts. There are also three movable ligaments made of bone shields on the neck. The medium-long tail is also covered with pentagonal plates, which are not arranged in rows. The armor of the giant armadillo is gray-brown to dark brown in color with a slightly lighter edge; individual individuals can be identified by the number of light and dark bone platelets per row. The animal's belly also appears lighter, as does the head and tail. Only a few hairs sprout between the individual platelets. The limbs each end in five toes that all have claws. These are particularly pronounced and also very flat on the third toe of the front feet, where they can reach a length of up to 20 cm and are therefore among the longest claws in the animal kingdom. The rear foot measures around 19 cm in length. Females have two mammary glands .

Skull and skeletal features

Like all armadillos, the giant armadillo also has teeth that differ from other mammals . These are built up without tooth enamel and are single-rooted and also have a high crown ( hypselodont ) and hardly differentiated ( homodont ). Since the teeth often tend to fall out after wear and tear, the number of these is very variable over the course of an animal's life. On average there are 20 to 25 teeth in each arch, for a total of 80 to 100, which is the largest number in all land-dwelling mammals. The structure of the front limbs is also characteristic. The ulna reaches up to 13.2 cm in length, of which the upper joint, the olecranon , takes up to 6.4 cm. Such large joints on the front legs are usually typical of animals with a burrowing way of life.

Sensory performances and vocalizations

In the giant armadillo, the olfactory sense in particular is well developed and is used to search for food, whereas the sense of sight is underdeveloped. Nothing is known about utterances.

distribution

Distribution area (red-brown) of the giant armadillo

The giant armadillo lives in large parts of South America east of the Andes and occurs from northern Venezuela over the Amazon basin to Paraguay and northern Argentina . However, it does not occur in eastern Brazil or in Uruguay , where it may have become extinct in the latter country. Reports of the armadillo species from more southern parts of Argentina are known from historical times. It can generally be found up to a height of around 500 m above sea level, in northeastern Peru individual animals could even be observed up to altitudes of 1180 m. The entire distribution area is given as 9.75 million square kilometers, but the extent of the actually inhabited areas is unknown. In general, the population density is very low. For the Emas National Park in central Brazil, it is assumed to be one to five individuals per 100 km², in the eastern part of the Llanos in Colombia it could be determined with the help of camera traps to 5.8 individuals on a comparable area. With 7.7 animals per 100 km² it is about higher in the Pantanal , the survey is also based on camera traps. The giant armadillo lives in a number of different habitats , including tropical rainforests , but also open bush and grassland , where it often seeks proximity to water. In its southern distribution area it has also been found in drier areas of the Gran Chaco , especially in forests with lapacho and palo santo trees. It has also been observed in the Cerrado savannas, but also in the more humid Pantanal and in the Atlantic coastal forests ( Mata Atlântica ).

Way of life

Territorial behavior

The giant armadillo is nocturnal, its activities peak between 10 p.m. and midnight. However, mother and young animals may already be on the move at dusk. In addition, it appears as a loner who only meets to mate with other species. He uses action spaces that vary in size and can reach up to 15 km². In the Serra da Canastra National Park in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais they are an average of 4.5 km², in the Emas National Park in central Brazil up to 10.1 km². Again in the Pantanal , areas of between 1.8 and 3.1 km² with an average of 2 , 5 km² detected. Here, the action spaces of male animals are sometimes more than twice as large as those of female animals. The edges can overlap with the action spaces of other individuals. During the day, the giant armadillo retreats into its burrow, which it created with its large claws on its forefeet. The strong claws can also tear open hard floors and hard termite mounds, in which the shelter is sometimes created. According to studies in the Serra da Canastra National Park, the burrows are often in open landscapes, rarely in forests, and have entrances with a width of around 45 cm and a height of around 32 cm, from which the corridors are at an angle of a good 34 ° in lead the underground. In addition, they are in the direction of the leeward side. Investigations in the Gran Chaco also found a frequent orientation to the west, possibly to capture the maximum amount of solar heat, as very cold days can also occur in this region. In the Llanos area of ​​Colombia, the entrances are on average 42 cm wide and 35 cm high and are often close to the water on slopes with an incline of 25 °. Here none of the structures were related to ant or termite mounds. The burrows are visited several times in a row, in some cases up to 17 times, an animal was observed that did not leave its burrow for three days. A single animal maintains several burrows in its area of ​​action, so that studies in the Emas National Park could register three each on an area of ​​2  ha . The giant armadillo's intensive excavation activities also have an impact on its immediate surroundings, as this creates new habitats that can be used by other animal species. Investigations in the Pantanal recorded around two dozen other animal species that used the burrows or excavations in different ways, and up to 26 have been identified in the Llanos area. The products range from other members of the Xenarthra on cloven-hoofed animals , predators , bats and rodents to birds and reptiles . The giant armadillo covers up to 7.5 km on its nocturnal forays for food, on average it is around 2.77 km for animals in the Serra da Canastra National Park and 1.65 km for those in the Pantanal. When moving, an animal treads on the soles of its hind feet and supports itself with the tips of its front feet by bending its long claws to the side. The giant armadillo is also able to stand on its hind legs, with the tail serving as a support to sniff out a scent trail in the air, be it to track down food or to identify a threat. It is also a very good swimmer.

food

The giant armadillo is a highly specialized insect eater . Its diet consists largely of termites and ants and their larvae. Investigations of stomach contents from the Cerrado region showed quantitatively more than 56% ants and over 42% termites, mainly of the genera Cornitermes and Velocitermes , the first-mentioned termite representative reached 60% of the total ingested biomass. Cornitermes nests are often extremely solid, but termites with such nests tend to develop less powerful chemical defense substances. Beetles were exterminated with only 0.2% absolutely subordinate . In the Chaco region, the nests and honey of ground-dwelling bees are also part of the food spectrum ; in the Amazon basin , the animals may plunder the burrows of stingless bees , for example of the genus Trigona . The giant armadillo only occasionally eats other invertebrates such as spiders and worms, and very rarely also vertebrates such as smaller snakes . Food intake, especially by insects, takes place with the help of the up to 16 cm long, worm-shaped tongue, which is covered with sticky saliva. The giant armadillo usually completely removes a broken termite mound, which in a single feeding process usually leads to the destruction of the entire colony, in some cases it also builds its burrow in it. In addition to the general animal diet, it was observed on the basis of stomach remains that the armadillo also consumes seeds from figs and fruits from Annona and Jacaratia trees. However, the consumption of vegetable remains seems to be seasonal.

Reproduction

Little is known about the reproduction of the giant armadillo. Observations or sightings of groups of mother and juveniles in the wild are extremely rare. Many assumptions such as the onset of sexual maturity (at 10 to 12 months), the length of the gestation period (around four months) or the onset of weaning (after six months) are purely speculative. From February to August 2014, for the first time, several dams with their only young could be observed using camera traps in central Colombia . The age of the young suggests a birth during the rainy season, which lasts from March to November. The birth weight is estimated at 1.9 to 3.5 kg, the young has a leathery shell that is lighter than that of adult animals. The young animal spends part of the development phase in an underground burrow, the entrance of which is covered with soil or vegetation, which may prevent predatory animals from entering. Noteworthy is the repeatedly observed clawing of the young animal with its front feet on the back of the mother animal, which was not previously known from other armadillos. It may be used to develop motor skills, but it could also indicate a more primal behavior, since the related anteaters carry their offspring on their back, which is not possible with the armadillos for anatomical reasons. In the Pantanal, a female gave birth to three cubs within six years. The first died after four weeks from infanticide . The second boy was born eight months after the first birth and survived two years. A third cub followed a good three years after the second birth. More precise data on individual development are available for the second boy. The mother spends up to 21 hours in the den with her offspring in the first days after birth. After that, the length of stay is shortened and separation intervals of up to 80 hours occur. The young animal opens its eyes for the first time after around 53 days. When leaving the burrow together, the mother closes the entrance with sand, which means that shelters in which the young animals are located often have an areally distributed pile of sand nearby. The young animal undertakes its own excursions from the fourth month of life, but initially only stays outside for a maximum of 20 minutes. The time can increase to three hours in the seventh month. In the first six months, the mother and her offspring change buildings around a dozen times. The respective duration of stay in a building is five to 20 days, the new shelter is up to 300 m away from the old one. Sometimes the mother walks backwards when changing nests and maintains physical contact with the young. The young is completely dependent on the mother's milk for the first six to eight months . Weaning takes place after about a year. The offspring sometimes use the mother's building until they are 18 months old. Only then does it start to dig its own burrows. The life expectancy of the giant armadillo in the wild is unknown; in animals in human care it is 12 to 16 years.

Predator and enemy behavior

Due to its size, the giant armadillo has hardly any predators , and jaguars or pumas only rarely prey on an animal. If there is danger, it sniffs the air and flees into a burrow or burrows. Often the claws are rammed into the ground so that it can hardly be moved.

Parasites

External parasites are mainly ticks , different types of Amblyomma are important here . As endoparasite merely to be nematodes belonging genus Aspidodera known. The armadillo is also a carrier of the pathogen Toxoplasma gondii , which causes toxoplasmosis .

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  

 Priodontes maximus


   

 Tolypeutes


   

 Cabassous







Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The giant armadillo is the only species from the genus Priodontes that appears monotypical. Species and genus belong to the group of armadillos (Dasypoda) and to the order of armored collateral animals (Cingulata). Together with its closest relatives, the ball armadillos ( Tolypeutes ) and the bare- tailed armadillos ( Cabassous ), the giant armadillo forms the subfamily of the Tolypeutinae within the family of the Chlamyphoridae . The next related group are the Chlamyphorinae , which include the girdle gullet ( Chlamyphorus truncatus ) and the Burmeister girdle gullet ( Calyptophractus retusus ), further outside are the Euphractinae with, among others, the six-banded armadillo ( Euphractus sexcinctus ). According to molecular genetic studies, the Chlamyphorinae and Tolypeutinae split up in the Oligocene 33 million years ago. The Tolypeutinae diversified in the Lower Miocene around 22 million years ago, with Priodontes possibly separating first and emerging from its sister line Cabassous and Tolypeutes a short time later . From an anatomical point of view, Cabassous and Priodontes are seen as much more closely related; both form the tribe of the Priodontini . The giant armadillo and the bare-tailed armadillos are very similar in appearance, but the former differs largely from the latter due to its massive size and armored tail. Tolypeutes, in turn, is placed in the Tolypeutini tribe because of his characteristic armor . The subfamily also contains some extinct genera, including the Kuntinaru from the Oligocene . There is no known fossil record of the giant armadillo.

Subspecies of the giant armadillo are not known, so the species is monotypical like the genus. The first reports of the large armadillo were published in Europe by the French naturalists Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon and Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton in the 18th century, but at that time it was often associated with the bare-tailed armadillos. It was first described in 1792 by Robert Kerr under the name Dasypus maximus , he referred to Buffon and, like the latter, gave Cayenne in French Guiana as the type locality . It was not until 1825 that Frédéric Cuvier referred the giant armadillo to its own genus, Priodontes . The synonym Dasypus gigas , which was often used especially in the 19th century and which he introduced in 1817, comes from Frédéric's brother Georges Cuvier . A very precise description was given in 1801 by Félix de Azara in the report Le Grand Tatou from his collection of writings, Essais sur l'Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes de la Province du Paraguay .

Threat and protection

Giant armadillo (in the Los Ocarros Bioparque in Villavicencio , Colombia)

The greatest danger for the rare giant armadillo today comes from hunting, since the meat is considered digestible. An investigation carried out from 1993 to 1994 among the " Waimiri Atroari " ethnic group from the central Amazon lowlands , which then comprised around 800 people, revealed that they had killed a total of 6 giant armadillos in this one year period. The total weight was around 180 kg, which made up around 0.4% of the total biomass harvested over the year. The rarity of the giant armadillo also encourages trophy hunting and is therefore also threatening for the population. The fat is also used as a remedy for asthma and bronchitis . Another reason for hunting is the occasional devastation of fields in search of food; There is also a trade in live animals on the black market . The destruction of the habitat through conversion into arable and pasture land is particularly threatening. Since around 1980 there has been a 20 to 30% decrease in the population, some researchers assume up to 50%. The armadillo species has disappeared from large areas of its eastern range. The IUCN lists the giant armadillo because of its rarity as "threatened" ( vulnerable ), locally there are also stronger threats which, according to experts, must also be taken into account by the IUCN in the future when assessing the total population. The giant armadillo is represented in several protected areas, which are also equipped with camera traps for more precise observation and scientific evaluation , for example in the 1320 km² Emas National Park in Brazil.

literature

  • Tracy S. Carter, Mariella Superina and David M. Leslie Jr .: Priodontes maximus (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae). Mammalian Species 48 (932), 2016, pp. 21-34, doi: 10.1093 / mspecies / sew002
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  • 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. 69) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Paul Smith: Giant armadillo Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792). Mammals of Paraguay 6, 2007, pp. 1-11
  2. ↑ a b c d e Leandro Silveira, Anah Tereza de Almeida Jácomo, Mariana Malzoni Furtado, Natália Mundim Torres, Rahel Sollmann and Carly Vynne: Ecology of the Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus) in the Grasslands of Central Brazil. Edentata 8-10, 2009, pp 25-34
  3. ↑ a b c d e Tracy S. Carter, Mariella Superina, David M. Leslie Jr .: Priodontes maximus (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae). Mammalian Species 48 (932), 2016, pp. 21-34
  4. ↑ a b c d e 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. 69) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4
  5. ^ A b S. F. Vizcaíno and N. Milne: Structure and function in armadillo limbs (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae). Journal of Zoology 257, 2002, pp. 117-127
  6. Jump up ↑ Néstor Allgas, Sam Shanee, Alejandro Alarcón and Noga Shanee: ANuevos registros de Xenarthra para el nororiente del Perú, con notas sobre su distribución y conservación. Edentata 16, 2015, pp. 28-36
  7. ↑ Mariella Superina and Agustín. M. Abba: Priodontes maximus. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, p. 172
  8. ↑ a b c d Carlos Aya-Cuero, Abelardo Rodríguez-Bolaños and Mariella Superina: Population density, activity patterns, and ecological importance of giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus) in Colombia. Journal of Mammalogy 98 (3), 2017, pp. 770-778, doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyx006
  9. ↑ a b c Arnauld Leonard Jean Desbiez, Danilo Kluyber, Gabriel Favero Massocato, LGR Oliveira-Santos and N. Attias: Spatial ecology of the giant armadillo Priodontes maximus in Midwestern Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy 101 (1), 2020, pp. 151-163, doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyz172
  10. ↑ Grasiela Edith de Oliveira Porfirio, Pedro Sarmento, Nilson Lino Xavier Filho, Stephanie Paula da Silva Leal, Viviane Fonseca Moreira, Fernanda Almeida Rabelo, Joana Cruz and Carlos Fonseca: New records of giant armadillo Priodontes maximus (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) at Serra do Amolar, Pantanal of Brazil. Edentata 13, 2012, pp. 72-75
  11. ↑ Ana Carolina Srbek-Araujo, Leandro M. Scoss, André Hirsch and Adriano G. Chiarello: Records of the giant-armadillo Priodontes maximus (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) in the Atlantic Forest: are Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo the last strongholds of the species ?. Zoologia 26 (3), 2009, pp. 461-468
  12. ↑ Tracy S. Carter and Christiane D. Encarnação: Characteristics and Use of Burrows by Four Species of Armadillos in Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy 64, 1983, pp. 103-108
  13. ↑ Natalia Ceresoli and Eduardo Fernandez-Duque: Size and orientation of giant armadillo burrow entrances (Priodontes maximus) in western Formosa province, Argentina. Edentata 13, 2012, pp. 66-68
  14. ↑ Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez and Danilo Kluyber: The Role of Giant Armadillos (Priodontes maximus) as Physical Ecosystem Engineers. Biotropica 45 (5), 2013, pp. 537-540
  15. ↑ Gabriel Fávero Massocato and Arnaud LJ Desbiez: Presença e importância do tatu-canastra, Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792), na maior área protegida do leste do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Edentata 18, 2017, pp. 26–33
  16. ↑ Teresa Cristina da Silveira Anacleto: Food Habits of Four Armadillo Species in the Cerrado Area, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Zoological Studies 46 (4), 2007, pp. 529-537
  17. ↑ Tomaz Nascimento de Melo and David Silva Nogueira: Giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792; Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae) attacks nest of stingless bee Trigona amalthea (Olivier, 1789) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Edenata, 2020
  18. ^ Robert B. Wallace and R. Lilian E. Painter: Observations on the diet of the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792). Edentata 14, 2013, pp. 85-86
  19. ^ A b Carlos Aya-Cuero, Mariella Superina and Abelardo Rodríguez-Bolaños: Primeros registros de crías de ocarro (Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792) in Colombia. Edentata 16, 2015 ( [1] )
  20. ↑ Arnauld Leonard Jean Desbiez, Gabriel Favero Massocato and Danilo Kluyber: Insights into giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792) reproduction. Mammalia 84 (3), 2020, pp. 283-293, doi: 10.1515 / mammalia-2019-0018
  21. ↑ Flávia Regina Miranda, Rodrigo Hidalgo Friciello Teixeira, Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Nicolau Maués Serra-Freire and Marinete Amorim: cajennense in Wild Giant Armadillos (Priodontes maximus) of the Pantanal Matogrossense, Brazil. Edentata 11 (1), 2010, pp. 73-75
  22. ↑ 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
  23. ↑ 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, 673-680
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Paul Smith: The Xenarthra famalies Myrmecophagidae and Dasypodidae. Fauna Paraguay Handbook of the Mammals of Paraguay 2012, pp. 1-35
  26. ↑ Guillaume Billet, Lionel Hautier, Christian de Muizon and Xavier Valentin: Oldest cingulate skulls provide congruence between morphological and molecular scenarios of armadillo evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278, 2011, pp. 2791-2797
  27. ↑ Frédéric Delsuc, Sergio F Vizcaíno and Emmanuel JP Douzery: Influence of Tertiary paleoenvironmental changes on the diversification of South American mammals: a relaxed molecular clock study within xenarthrans. BMC Evolutionary Biology 4 (11), 2004, pp. 1-13
  28. ↑ 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
  29. ^ Robert Kerr: The animal kingdom or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnaeus. class I. Mammalia. Edinburgh, 1792, pp. 1–644 (p. 112) ( [2] )
  30. ^ Frédéric Cuvier: Des dents de mammifères, considérées comme caractères zoologiques. Paris, 1825, pp. 1–258 (p. 198) ( [3] )
  31. ↑ Georges Cuvier: Le règne animal distribué d'après son organization: pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Paris, 1817, pp. 1–540 (p. 221) ( [4] )
  32. ↑ Félix de Azara: Essais sur l'Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes de la Province du Paraguay. Paris, 1801, pp. 1–499 (pp. 132–141) ( [5] )
  33. Jump up ↑ Roselis Remor de Souza-Mazurek, Temehe Pedrinho, Xinymy Feliciano, Waraié Hilário, Sanapyty Gerôncio and Ewepe Marcelo: Subsistence hunting among the Waimiri Atroari Indians in central Amazonia, Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 9, 2000, pp. 579-596
  34. ↑ Mariella Superina and Agustín. M. Abba: Priodontes maximus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. ( [6] ), last accessed on April 23, 2013
  35. ↑ Paul Smith: Assessing the assessment, the relevance of the 2006 Paraguayan mammal Red List to the reality of Xenarthra conservation in 2012. Edentata 13, 2012, pp. 18-28

Web links

Commons : Giant Armadillos  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files