Giant armadillo
Giant armadillo | |
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Giant armadillo Régina
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Cingulata |
Family: | Chlamyphoridae |
Subfamily: | Tolypeutinae |
Genus: | Priodontes F. Cuvier , 1825
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Species: | P. maximus
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Binomial name | |
Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792)
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Giant armadillo range |
The giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), colloquially tatu-canastra, tatou, ocarro or tatú carreta, is the largest living
The giant armadillo prefers
At least one zoo park, in Villavicencio, Colombia – Los Ocarros – is dedicated to this animal.
Description
The giant armadillo is the largest living species of armadillo, with 11 to 13 hinged bands protecting the body and a further three or four on the neck.[6] Its body is dark brown in color, with a lighter, yellowish band running along the sides, and a pale, yellow-white head. These armadillos have around 80 to 100 teeth, which is more than any other terrestrial mammal. The teeth are all similar in appearance, being reduced premolars and molars, grow constantly throughout life, and lack enamel.[7] They also possess extremely long front claws,[8] including a sickle-shaped third claw up to 22 cm (8.7 in) in length,[9] which are proportionately the largest of any living mammal.[7] The tail is covered in small rounded scales and does not have the heavy bony scutes that cover the upper body and top of the head. The animal is almost entirely hairless, with just a few beige colored hairs protruding between the scutes.[7]
Giant armadillos typically weigh around 18.7–32.5 kg (41–72 lb) when fully grown, however a 54 kg (119 lb) specimen has been weighed in the wild and captive specimens have been weighed up to 80 kg (180 lb).[10][11][12] The typical length of the species is 75–100 cm (30–39 in), with the tail adding another 50 cm (20 in).[6]
Distribution and habitat
Giant armadillos are found throughout much of northern South America east of the Andes, except for eastern Brazil and Paraguay. In the south, they reach the northernmost provinces of Argentina, including Salta, Formosa, Chaco, and Santiago del Estero. There are no recognised geographic subspecies. They primarily inhabit open habitats, with cerrado grasslands covering about 25% of their range,[13] but they can also be found in lowland forests.[7]
Biology and behavior
Giant armadillos are solitary and
Giant armadillos use their large front claws to dig for prey and rip open termite mounds. The diet is mainly composed of termites, although ants, worms, spiders, other invertebrates, small vertebrates and carrion are also eaten.[6][16] Little is currently known about this species' reproductive biology, and no juveniles have ever been discovered in the field.[17] The average sleep time of a captive giant armadillo is said to be 18.1 hours.[18]
Armadillos have not been extensively studied in the wild; therefore, little is known about their natural ecology and behavior. In the only long-term study on the species, that started in 2003 in the Peruvian Amazon, dozens of other species of mammals, reptiles and birds were found using the giant armadillos' burrows on the same day, including the rare short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis). Because of this, the species is considered a habitat engineer, and the local extinction of Priodontes may have cascading effects in the mammalian community by impoverishing fossorial habitat.[19] Additionally, the giant armadillo was once key to controlling leaf cutter populations which could destroy crops, but they can also damage crops themselves when digging through soil.[20]
Female giant armadillos have two teats and have a gestational period of about five months. Evidence points to only giving birth once every three years.[citation needed][21] Little is known with certainty about their life history, although it is thought that the young are weaned by about seven to eight months of age, and that the mother periodically seals up the entrance to burrows containing younger offspring, presumably to protect them from predators. Although they have never bred in captivity, a wild-born giant armadillo at San Antonio Zoo was estimated to have been around sixteen years old when it died.[7]
Threats
Hunted throughout its range, a single giant armadillo supplies a great deal of meat, and is the primary source of protein for some indigenous peoples. In addition, live giant armadillos are frequently captured for trade on the black market, and invariably die during transportation or in captivity.
Conservation
The giant armadillo was classified as vulnerable on the
The giant armadillo is protected by law in
References
This article incorporates text from the
- ^ .
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ "Animais em Extinção". hábitos alimentares do Tatu Canastra (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- S2CID 231958749.
- ^ ISBN 0789477645
- ^ .
- ^ Macdonald, D. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ISBN 9780226195421.
- ^ Giant Armadillo Archived 6 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Arkive
- ^ "Armadillos, Armadillo Pictures, Armadillo Facts". Animals.nationalgeographic.com. 12 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010.
- ^ "Giant armadillo Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792)" (PDF). faunaparaguay.com.
- S2CID 84581723.
- ^ "Giant Armadillo". Armadillo Online. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
- S2CID 85997649.
- ^ "Priodontes maximus (Giant armadillo)". Animal Diversity Web.
- ISSN 1413-4411.
- ^ "40 Winks?" Jennifer S. Holland, National Geographic Vol. 220, No. 1. July 2011.
- ^ Leite Pitman et al. 2004[full citation needed]
- ^ Armitage, David (2004). "Priodontes Maximus (giant armadillo)". Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ "Noticias da Floresta - Projeto estuda o maior dos tatus, gigante tímido que quase ninguém vê".
- ^ a b c d e Aguiar, J.M. (2004). Species Summaries and Species Discussions. pp. 3–26.
- ^ Superina, M. (2000). Biologie und Haltung von Gürteltieren (Dasypodidae) [Biology and maintenance of armadillos (Dasypodidae)] (PDF) (in German). Zürich, Switzerland: Institut für Zoo-, Heim- und Wildtiere, Universität Zürich.
- ^ "Environmental Law Information". Ecolex. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Center of Conservation". University of Washington. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
- ^ "The Central Suriname Nature Reserve". Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
External links
Data related to Priodontes maximus at Wikispecies
- Giant armadillo media from ARKive
- "Priodontes maximus: Information". Animal Diversity Web.
- "Priodontes maximus". UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009.
- "Genus Priodontes". MSU.edu. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
- Giant Armadillo Project: Habitat Use and Activity
- Hotel Armadillo - PBS Nature video of burrow, adults and baby