Greater long-nosed armadillo
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The greater long-nosed armadillo (''Dasypus kappleri'') is a South American
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of armadillo found in Colombia,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, Guyana, Suriname,
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, Bolivia and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It is a solitary, nocturnal, terrestrial animal that feeds on
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...
s and other
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s, usually living in the vicinity of streams and swamps. One of the larger species of armadillo, it measures in total length and generally weighing , though it can reach as much as . Spurs on its hind legs allow it to crawl on its knees into narrow tunnels.


Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognised; ''D. k. kappleri''
Krauss Krauss is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alison Krauss (born 1971), American bluegrass musician * Alexander Krauß (born 1975), German politician * Alexis Krauss (born 1985), musician of the noise pop duo Sleigh Bells ...
, 1862, from southeastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, The Guianas and the lower part of the Amazon Basin in Brazil; ''D. k. pastasae''
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
, 1901, from eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northeastern Bolivia and the upper part of the Amazon basin in Brazil.


Description

The greater long-nose armadillo is the largest armadillo in its genus. Its head-and-body length is between and its tail between , with a weight usually varying between . Like other armadillos, the forequarters and the hindquarters are each protected by an armoured shield, and in this species, there are seven or eight ossified rings between the two. A distinguishing characteristic of this species is the transverse rows of large projecting scales on the hind side of the rear legs.


Distribution and habitat

This armadillo is native to tropical northeastern South America. Its range includes Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Colombia to the east of the Andes, Venezuela to the south of the
Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...
, and the Amazon Basin of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and northeastern Bolivia. It is a mammal of humid lowland forest in the basins of the Orinoco and Amazon. It also occurs in patches of forest in savannah areas. It is common in forested areas in the uplands where less hunting takes place, and forages on floodplains near headwater streams, in palm swamps, on hill sides and hill tops.


Ecology

The species has been little studied by researchers and its natural history is poorly known. However, the
Matsés people The Matsés or Mayoruna are an indigenous people of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. Their traditional homelands are located between the Javari and Galvez rivers. The Matsés have long guarded their lands from other indigenous tribes and stru ...
, an indigenous tribe from the upper Amazon basin, were able to tell researchers a great deal about the animals. This armadillo is solitary and nocturnal. It spends the day in a burrow dug in the bank of a gully or beside a stream on the flood plain. The burrow has a single entrance, a pungent, leaf-lined sleeping chamber and a long retreat tunnel, often sloppy with a little water. Each animal has several burrows which it occupies on different days. Small white flies live in association with this armadillo. They are present by day at the entrance of active burrows, and are more numerous when an armadillo is in residence. This armadillo is hunted for food by the Matsés people and is much esteemed, especially in April and May when it is at its fattest. It is usually caught by flooding its burrow and digging it out. When disturbed it makes a rumbling growl, and when attacked, growls more loudly. Before dusk the armadillo starts to stir. When it is fully dark it rushes out of the burrow and sets off along one of its paths; these run along hill tops and across foraging areas. The armadillo stops at intervals to hunt around for
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s and their larvae,
millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...
s and centipedes, digging in soft ground for
earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. T ...
s, and also consuming fallen fruit. It is very fond of the fruits of the ''
Oenocarpus bataua ''Oenocarpus bataua'', the patawa, sehe, hungurahua (Ecuador) or mingucha, is a palm tree native to the Amazon rainforest. The tree produces edible fruits rich in high-quality oil.Vallejo Rendón, Darío 2002. "Oenocarpus bataua, seje"; ''Colomb ...
'' palm, and also eats the ants that climb on these fruits, as well as any other invertebrates it may chance upon. It may swim across streams and wallow in mud holes. When dawn is approaching it finds its path and follows it to one of its burrows. Here it gathers some leaf litter to add to its resting chamber and retires underground. It moves around, compressing its bed for a while before settling down. It sometimes emerges from its burrow by day during heavy rain. Mating may take place when two animals encounter each other at night. The female usually has two offspring which are born in the burrow, and follow her around when they are old enough to do so. When out at night, jaguars (''Panthera onca'') and pumas (''Puma concolor'') are the greatest danger to the armadillo. When it crosses streams, the armadillo may be seized by a black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger'') or an
anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used ...
(''Eunectes murinus''). It can also be killed by
tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...
s (''Eira barbara'') when several hunt together. During the day,
bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossi ...
s (''Speothos venaticus'') sometimes enter the burrow and pull the armadillo out, eating it beside the entrance.


Status

''D. kappleri'' has a very wide range and is present in a number of protected areas. The chief threat it faces is from deforestation as it is unable to live in open countryside. It is hunted for meat in some areas but no other significant threats have been identified. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...
has rated its conservation status as being of "
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
". In the Llanos region of Colombia, the organisation ''Fundación Omacha'' is undertaking an education and awareness campaign among local people featuring this species.


See also

*


References


External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1764523 Armadillos Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Peru Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Least concern biota of South America Mammals described in 1862 Taxa named by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss