Yungas armadillo
| Yungas armadillo | ||||||||||||
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Yungas armadillo ( Dasypus mazzai ), holotype specimen |
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| Dasypus mazzai | ||||||||||||
| Yepes , 1933 |
The Yungas armadillo ( Dasypus mazzai ; Syn .: Dasypus yepesi ) is a species of armadillo that is endemic to northern Argentina . She lives in the Yunga forests of the Andean foothills , but her way of life has hardly been explored. In total, only nine places are known where the Yungas armadillo has been observed so far. The endangered status of the stock is unknown. The species was introduced in 1995, but has a problematic history of taxonomy .
features
The Yungas armadillo reaches a head-trunk length of 31 to 32 cm, the tail is an additional 23 cm long and takes up around 70% of the body length. It is thus smaller than the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ), but larger than the seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus septemcinctus ) and the southern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus hybridus ). The head becomes approximately 7.3 cm long and at the cheekbones up to 3.2 cm wide. With a length of 3.7 cm, the ears reach half the length of the head. As with all armadillos, the teeth do not correspond to the typical mammalian teeth , but are constructed without tooth enamel . The Yungas armadillo has 7 to 8 such teeth in the upper jaw and 8 such teeth in the lower jaw, a total of 30 to 32. The characteristic back armor, which is slightly lighter in color on the sides than on the top, consists of a solid shoulder and pelvis , between which there are 7 to 9, on average 8 movable ligaments connected to one another by skin folds. The fourth movable band is made up of 51 to 63 small, square bone plates, whereas those of the more solid armor areas are rounded. The relatively short legs end in four rays at the front and five at the back, each with claws. The rear foot reaches 6.1 cm in length.
distribution and habitat
The Yungas armadillo is endemic to the north of Argentina and is only found in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta . A total of only nine locations are known where the armadillo species has been observed so far and which extend over a total area of 22,000 km². The density of the population has not been researched. The habitat mainly comprises the montane Yunga forests of the Andean foothills from 440 to 1800 m above sea level. These are mainly characterized by high precipitation of 800 to 2000 mm on an annual average. However, the Yungas armadillo also tolerates drier habitats and also occurs in dry forests in the lower elevations of its range.
Way of life
Due to a lack of field research, nothing is known about the way of life of the Yungas armadillo.
Systematics
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Internal systematics of the armadillos according to Gibb et al. 2015
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The Yungas armadillo is one of the seven species from the genus of the long-nosed armadillos ( Dasypus ) that are still alive today . The long-nosed armadillos belong in turn to the group of armadillos (Dasypoda). Within this, the genus Dasypus is assigned to its own family , the Dasypodidae , to which the now extinct genera Stegotherium and Propraopus are also assigned. The former is largely known from the Miocene and comprised several species, while the latter comes from the Pleistocene and also appeared with several species. According to molecular genetic studies, the Dasypodidae separated in the Middle Eocene around 45 million years ago from the line of other armadillos, which includes all other armadillos today with the family of Chlamyphoridae .
Within the genus Dasypus , the Yungas armadillo and the savannah armadillo ( Dasypus sabanicola ) form a smaller group, which is opposed to a clade composed of the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ) and the furry armadillo ( Dasypus pilosus ). Originally, the seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus septemcinctus ) and the southern seven-banded armadillo ( Dasypus hybridus ) were also considered to be more closely related to the Yungas armadillo, but according to recent molecular genetic studies from 2015, these are now somewhat further out. All of the armadillo species mentioned, with the exception of the fur armadillo, together form the Dasypus sub-genus . The Kappler armadillo ( Dasypus kappleri ), on the other hand, forms its own subgenus, Hyperoambon , as does the fur armadillo with Cryptophractus . The diversification of the Dasypus subgenus began around 5 million years ago in the transition from the Miocene to the Pliocene .
Overall, the Yungas armadillo has been very little explored. However, the armadillo has a complex history of taxonomy . Its first description goes back to José V. Yepes , who introduced the name Dasypus mazzai in 1933. He used two museum copies from the province of Salta for this, the holotype (copy number: MACN-Ma 31.273) represents a skull with a body skeleton including the armor. The second individual, a mounted skeleton, used Yepes as a paratype (copy number: MACN-Ma 13222 ). The species is named after Salvador Mazza , an epidemiologist who researched numerous local diseases in South America at the beginning of the 20th century and also assembled a large collection of mammals. Already six years later, GWD Hamlett diagnosed the holotype as a young animal of the nine-banded armadillo, after which D. mazzai was largely regarded as a synonym for this species. He referred the second individual classified by Yepes to Dasypus mazzai to a species not yet described. In 1979, Ralph M. Wetzel equated Yepes' paratype with the southern seven-banded armadillo, while he identified other examples known at the time as the seven-banded armadillo. In 1995 Sergio F. Vizcaíno used some indeterminate individuals and additionally the paratype of Dasypus mazzai for morphometric analyzes and recognized the uniqueness of the specimens from other long-nosed armadillos. In the same year he presented a further description under the scientific name Dasypus yepesi . As a holotype (copy number: DZV-MLP 30-III-90-8) he chose a tank with a skull and lower jaw, which come from the town of San Andrés in the province of Salta at 1,800 m above sea level and are now in the museum of the city of La Plata in Argentina be kept. With the species name yepesi , Vizcaíno honored Yepes for his work on the previously established species Dasypus mazzai . In the following years, the Yungas armadillo was largely led under the Vizcaínos name, but its independent status remained unclear and further morphological and genetic studies were requested. However, the genetic studies from 2015 confirmed the independence of the Yungas armadillo, but also revealed a close connection to the savanna armadillo ( Dasypus sabanicola ) from northern South America.
An examination of the holotype specimen of Dasypus mazzai carried out in 2014 showed that the skull did not come from a young animal of the nine-banded armadillo, but with its fused cranial sutures and fully developed dentition, it is an adult specimen of a smaller species, roughly comparable in size to the Yungas armadillo. The rest of the body features of both the holo- and paratypes of Dasypus mazzai also match those of the Yungas armadillo. The authors drew the conclusion that the actually correct scientific species name of the Yungas armadillo is Dasypus mazzai . Other authors agreed. The synonymity of Dasypus yepesi with Dasypus mazzai was confirmed in 2018 by genetic studies that included the holotype specimen selected by Yepes and made a comparison with the known gene sequences of other long-nosed armadillos. Accordingly, Dasyous mazzai and Dasypus yepesi are genetically identical. In addition, however, they also confirmed the strong similarities with the savannah armadillo, which should therefore be included in the species. As a consequence, Dasypus mazzai would contain several isolated populations, the largest north-south separation of which is over 3000 km.
Threat and protection
Due to a lack of observations, nothing is known about the threat to the Yungas armadillo, but it is believed that it is used locally as a food resource and that the destruction of the forests has a negative impact on the population. The IUCN can not provide a protection status for the armadillo due to lack of data ( data deficient ). However, the Yungas armadillo has been identified from two national parks, the 760 km² Calilegua National Park and the 440 km² El Rey National Park . For protection and possible observation, camera traps are installed with which it was tracked down several times.
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 d 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
- ↑ a b Mariella Superina: Biology and keeping of armadillos (Dasypodidae). University of Zurich, 2000, pp. 1–248
- ↑ 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
- ↑ a b c Sergio F. Vizcaíno and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus yepesi. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, p. 168
- ↑ 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 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
- ↑ 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
- ^ GWD Hamlett: Identity of Dasypus septemcinctus Linnaeus with notes on some related species. Journal of Mammalogy 20, 1939, pp. 328-336
- ↑ Anderson Feijó and Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela: The correct name of the endemic Dasypus (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) from northwestern Argentina. Zootaxa 3887 (1), 2014, pp. 88-94
- ↑ a b 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 ( [1] )
- ^ Sergio F. Vizcaíno and Agustín M. Abba: Dasypus yepesi. In: IUCN 2012: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. ( [2] ), last accessed on March 20, 2013
Web links
- Dasypus yepesi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2013. Posted by: Vizcaíno & Abba, 2006. Accessed March 20, 2013.