Seven-banded armadillo

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Seven-banded armadillo
Seven-banded armadillo (Dasypus septemcinctus), stuffed specimen

Seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus septemcinctus ), stuffed specimen

Systematics
Order : Armored siderails (Cingulata)
without rank: Armadillos (Dasypoda)
Family : Dasypodidae
Subfamily : Dasypodinae
Genre : Long-nosed armadillos ( Dasypus )
Type : Seven-banded armadillo
Scientific name
Dasypus septemcinctus
Linnaeus , 1758

The seven-banded armadillo or northern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus septemcinctus ) is a representative of the long-nosed armadillos and is native to the eastern part of South America . It represents one of the smaller members of this group of armadillos , who mostly inhabit dry, open landscapes, but sometimes also prefers open forest landscapes. The way of life has been little researched, but the population is not considered endangered.

features

Habitus

The seven-banded armadillo reaches a head-trunk length of 24 to 30.5 cm, plus a tail length of 12.5 to 17 cm. The weight varies from 1.45 to 1.8 kg, females may be slightly larger than males. With the known size values, the animal is on average slightly smaller than its southern relative, the southern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus hybridus ). As with this one, the body is relatively low and wide. The head has a typical elongated snout and looks triangular when viewed from the side. The ears are up to 3.8 cm long, thus comparatively long, folded like a bag with rounded ends and are set far apart. The forehead is covered with individual bone platelets, but they do not reach the base of the ears. The characteristic back armor consists of two solid parts, one above the shoulder and one above the pelvis, each made up of several rows of small, rounded bone platelets. Between these two parts, the animal has 6 or 7 ligaments made of square shaped bone platelets, connected to one another by hairless skin folds, the middle (fourth) ligament consisting of 44 to 52, on average 48 such platelets. The long tail is also covered with several rows of bony plates. Overall, the back armor and the head shield are dark gray and hairless, with pink tints on the platelets on the sides of the body. The belly has only a light, gray-colored hair fluff, is otherwise blackish to pink in color. The legs end in four rays at the front feet and five rays at the rear feet with sharp, narrow claws. The middle two of the front feet are longest. The hind foot becomes up to 7.3 cm long.

Skeletal features

The skull becomes maximally 7.3 cm long. The dentition differs from other mammals in the structure of its teeth and has peg- like , molar-like and single-root teeth without tooth enamel . There are six in the upper and eight in the lower jaw per mandibular arch, making a total of 28. On the foreleg, the ulna has a particularly large upper joint ( olecranon ), which is about 1.8 cm with a total length of 4.7 cm . Such large joints on the lower front limbs are typical of animals with a burrowing way of life.

Sensory performances and vocalizations

The only known utterances are individual, low grunts, but these are not typically uttered in the wild.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area

The distribution area extends from the lower reaches of the Amazon in the north to the south of Brazil . It can also be found in the east of Bolivia , in the north of Argentina and also in Paraguay . The exact southern border is not known, because it is often confused with the southern seven-banded armadillo but also with the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ). The total size of the distribution area is given as 5.87 million square kilometers, although the exact extent of the actually inhabited area is not known. As a habitat, the armadillo prefers dry rather than humid locations and is native to the mostly open landscapes of the Cerrado Savannas and Gran Chaco Grasslands. It also tolerates changes or uses by humans and is therefore also found on pastures. Gallery forests and bush lands serve as additional habitats in southeastern Brazil . In individual Cerrado regions, the population density is around 3 individuals per square kilometer. In the coastal region near Rio de Janeiro this drops to less than one animal per ten square kilometers.

Way of life

Territorial behavior and nutrition

The way of life of the seven-banded armadillo has so far been little researched. It lives solitary and is nocturnal, but can also be found during the day. The individual animals maintain at home areas ( home range ) from 0.4 to 1.6 ha in size, but are only held for a short period, a maximum of 4 months. The armadillo builds underground burrows, the size and shape of which are largely unknown. However, an animal often uses burrows that have been dug by other animal species. Young animals build nests in the cold season. There is hardly any information about the diet, according to a study ants and termites predominate by far . Overall, the diet is believed to be similar to that of the nine-banded armadillo.

Reproduction

There is also little research into reproduction. According to observations, young animals are born in the middle of the rainy season from December to January; mating should therefore take place at the end of the dry season from June to September, based on a gestation period that is similar to that of related species. There are 7 to 9 newborns in a litter.

Predator and enemy behavior

The most important predator is the maned wolf . Investigations on over 320 feces remains of this wild dog in the Cerrado region revealed evidence of the seven-banded armadillo in almost a fifth. According to the analysis, the armadillo species is the most important prey animal with more than 27% biomass and a total of 81 kg of pure meat. It is also hunted by domestic dogs living in the wild . As a rule, an animal takes refuge in the closest burrow, where it can run and jump very agile through the dense vegetation.

Parasites

As external parasites are ticks of the genus Amblyomma known. Internal parasites were treated with nematodes , including Ascaroterakis and tapeworms about, Mathevotaenia detected. The latter was found in more than a quarter of all animals examined. The seven-banded armadillo is also the host of the fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis , which can cause the skin disease blastomycosis in humans by inhaling the spores .

Systematics

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

 Dasypus kappleri


   


 Dasypus septemcinctus


   

 Dasypus hybridus



   


 Dasypus mazzai


   

 Dasypus sabanicola



   

 Dasypus novemcinctus


   

 Dasypus pilosus






  Chlamyphoridae  
  Euphractinae  

 Euphractus


   

 Chaetophractus


   

 Zaedyus




   
  Chlamyphorinae  

 Chlamyphorus


   

 Calyptophractus



  Tolypeutinae  

 Priodontes


   

 Tolypeutes


   

 Cabassous







Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The seven-banded armadillo is a representative of the genus of dasypus ( Dasypus ), where six other species are attributed. The long-nosed armadillos are part of the group of armadillos (Dasypodia). The genus Dasypus forms its own family , the Dasypodidae . Numerous extinct genus are also included in the Dasypodidae, for example Stegotherium , which has been proven from the Miocene and includes several species. According to molecular genetic studies, the Dasypodidae separated from the line of the other armadillos, all of which belong to the Chlamyphoridae family, around 45 million years ago in the Middle Eocene . Within the long-nosed armadillos , the southern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus hybridus ) is the closest relative of the seven-banded armadillo.

There are two subspecies of the seven-banded armadillo:

Some authors also consider the southern seven-banded armadillo, which lives further south, as a subspecies. The first description was made by Linnaeus in 1758. The type locality he was doing India on, this error was 1777 by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben corrected with regard to Brazil; Erxleben also presented correct dimensions for the armadillo for the first time. The southern seven-banded armadillo was often confused or equated with the seven-banded armadillo. The former was named by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1804 , but it was not until 1939 that GWD Hamlett worked out diagnostic differences between the two armadillo representatives. Furthermore, a new, very similar species was described in 1995 with the Yungas armadillo ( Dasypus mazzai ), which is native to the northeast of Argentina . The genus name Dasypus was translated into the Greek language by Linnaeus from the Aztec word Azotochtli , which means something like "turtle hare" and is passed down through the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba as the name for the nine-banded armadillo . The name refers to the appearance of the animal, the species name septemcinctus refers to the seven movable bands of the body armor. The Spanish word mulita , which is often used in the region, means "little donkey" and is reminiscent of the donkey-like ears. The local name for the armadillo species of the Guaraní is tatu'i , which can be translated as "small armadillo".

Threat and protection

There are no known major threats to the seven-banded armadillo. It is occasionally hunted locally for food, which is mostly opportunistic . Studies of some groups of the indigenous people of the Xavante, which are widespread in central Brazil, resulted in only 14 animals killed within just under three years. Furthermore, the armadillo can be locally affected by habitat loss. Due to its widespread use, the IUCN classifies the stock as least concern (“not endangered”), but there are data gaps in some regions. Estimates assume a habitat size of 67 km² for a survivable population of 1000 individuals, up to 287 km² for over 4000 individuals, which is regarded as the minimum size for areas to be protected. The seven-banded armadillo is found in some nature reserves, including in the Poço das Antas National Park in Brazil.

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

  1. ^ Edgardo Mondolfi: Descripción de un nuevo armadillo del género Dasypus de Venezuela (Mammalia - Edentata). Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle 78, 1968, pp. 149-167
  2. ↑ a b c G. WD Hamlett: Identity of Dasypus septemcinctus Linnaeus with Notes on Some Related Species. Journal of Mammalogy 20, 1939, pp. 328-336
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Paul Smith: Seven banded armadillo Dasypus septemcinctus (Linnaeus, 1758). Mammals of Paraguay 14, 2008, pp. 1-7
  4. ↑ a b c d 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
  5. ^ SF Vizcaíno and N. Milne: Structure and function in armadillo limbs (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae). Journal of Zoology 257, 2002, pp. 117-127
  6. ↑ M. Superina and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus septemcinctus. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, p. 166
  7. ↑ a b c d e Kena FM da Silva and Raimundo Paulo Barros Henriques: Ecologia de População e Área de Vida do Tatu- Mirim (Dasypus septemcinctus) em um Cerrado no Brasil Central. Edentata 8-10, 2009, pp. 48-53
  8. ↑ Flávio HG Rodrigues, Adriani Hass, Ana CR Lacerda, Raquel LSC Grando, Marcelo A. Bagno †, Alexandra MR Bezerra and Wesley R. Silva: Feeding Habits of the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in the Brazilian Cerrado. Mastozoologia Neotropical 14 (1), 2007, pp. 37-51
  9. ↑ Thiago Fernandes Martins, Flávia Regina Miranda, Alexandre Martins Costa Lopes, Samuel Portela and Marcelo Bahia Labruna: Ticks parasitizing free-ranging armadillos in the caatinga biome, Brazil. Edentata, 2020
  10. ↑ a b 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
  11. ↑ 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
  12. ↑ 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
  13. ↑ 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
  14. ↑ 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
  15. ↑ a b 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
  16. ↑ M. Superina and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus septemcinctus. In: IUCN 2012: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. ( [1] ), last accessed on February 26, 2013
  17. ↑ edentate Specialist Group: The 2004 Edentata species assessment workshop, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, December 16-17, 2004. Edentata 5, 2004, pp 3-26

Web links

Commons : Dasypus septemcinctus  - collection of images, videos and audio files