Llanos long-nosed armadillo

Description

Like other members of its genus, the Llanos long-nosed armadillo has a carapace, a hard armour-like covering consisting of ossified dermal plates covered with leathery skin. The hind part of the body is covered by six to eleven moveable bands which give the animal flexibility. The tail is armoured, but the face, neck and underparts lack armour and are sparsely covered with pale fur. The legs are short and the four toes on the forefeet and five on the hind feet are long with strong claws. Adults grow to a maximum head-and-body length of around 570 mm with a tail of up to 483 mm, and a weight of up to 10 kg.

Distribution and habitat

This armadillo is endemic to the tropical northern part of South America. Its range includes lowland parts of Venezuela and Colombia where its altitudinal range is 25 to above sea level. Its habitat is the Llanos, a vast grassy plain that periodically floods.

Ecology

The species has a home range somewhere between 1.7 and. It emerges to forage at dawn and dusk and feeds on small invertebrates such as ants, termites and beetles. In Venezuela, it breeds between October and March. The litter size is usually four. As is the case with other members of Dasypus, all the embryos develop from a single zygote, making them identical quadruplets.

Status

The floodplains on which D. sabanicola lives are increasingly being used for the production of biofuels, for agro-industry and for tree plantations. This reduces the quantity and the quality of the habitat available to the armadillo. Population counts have not been done, but the animal is hunted for food, and there are reports from people living in the area that it is being seen less often. For these reasons, and as a precautionary measure, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the animal's conservation status as "near-threatened".

References

References

1. Superina, M.. (2014). "''Dasypus sabanicola''".
2. "Northern long-nosed armadillo". Xenarthrans.org.
3. "Dasypodidae - Armadillos". NHPBS.
4. {{MSW3 Cingulata
5. "Long-nosed armadillos". Armadillo Online!.
6. (May–June 1998). "Polyembryony in Armadillos". [[American Scientist]].
7. Gardner, Alfred L.. (2008). "Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats". University of Chicago Press.