Chacoan naked-tailed armadillo

Small naked-tailed armadillo ( Cabassous chacoensis )

The little naked-tailed armadillo or Chaco - naked-tailed armadillo ( Cabassous chacoensis ) is the smallest representative of the naked-tailed armadillos and lives mainly in dry landscapes of the Gran Chaco in South America. Of his life little is known. The species is endangered only slightly, according to IUCN.

Features

Habit

The little naked-tailed armadillo reaches a head-body length of 31 cm, added a long and narrow tail of an average of 9.3 cm. The weight is 1.5 to 1.6 kg. The head is short and broad, the eyes are characteristically small. The small and wide-set ears are only 1.4 inches long and are thus significantly smaller than the other naked-tailed armadillos. Striking is the head shield, which consists of 25 to 29 bone plates and has a triangular shape. The carapace covers both the shoulder and the pelvic region and extends to the limbs down. He has a dark brown, slightly lighter on the sides. It is composed of individual strips of the bone plate, wherein the shoulders 16 and 27 form a series of plates, in the pelvic area 25-5 (each counted from the front to the rear). Between the stronger shoulder and pelvic tanks are twelve movable bands with an average of 28 to 29 per plate. The tail has no bone plates and is naked. Hairs which are sometimes quite long, are found only on the sides of the body beneath the carapace, the abdomen but mostly hairless. The 6 cm in length very short limbs forming the front and back in five claws. Here are those of the front foot long, especially at the middle (third) beam. Running the animal uses the full sole of the hind feet while putting on the claws on the front feet.

Skeletal features

The skull is 7 cm long and to the cheekbones up to 4 cm wide, the rostrum but comparatively shorter and wider than other naked-tailed armadillos. The mandible has a narrow shape. The teeth are not the same as those which are normally formed in mammals. They resemble a bit the molars are broader than long, averaging 2.5 mm. Eight of these teeth are formed per arch, a total of 32, each row of teeth is 2.3 to 2.5 cm long. Noteworthy on the front legs is the ulna, which is 4.8 cm long, the upper hinge end ( olecranon ), which occupies only 2.2 cm. Such a big strong joint is typical for animals with grave forming lifestyle.

Sensory abilities and vocalizations

Only one reminiscent of pig squeals is known from males. However, females seem to be little noises.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area covers the western part of Paraguay and northern Argentina. Information from Bolivia and southern Brazil could not be confirmed. The settlement area is specified with 438,000 km ², but the population density is unknown. Here, the little naked-tailed armadillo lives mainly in dry areas of the Gran Chaco, which consists of open landscapes and dry forests with thorny bushes. It often occurs in areas with dense vegetation by Prosopis and Quebrachobäumen. In addition, the soils consist of loose, nichttonigen sediments. The little naked-tailed armadillo avoids cultivated areas.

Way of life

The little naked-tailed armadillo is rarely observed in the period since the late 1980s, very few documented sightings by scientists have become known about the lifestyle is characterized as almost nothing is known. There may be diurnal and lives underground in a well himself dug burrows. According to reports, it leaves them in gathering thunderstorms. The main diet includes ants and termites, whose buildings breaking up with his claws. In addition, the animal water seems to be able to track very well. Females give birth to one young is born during the propagation in the rule.

System

Dasypodinae

Tolypeutes

Priodontes

Cabassous

Chlamyphorinae

Zaedyus

Chaetophractus

Euphractus

The little naked-tailed armadillo belongs to the genus of naked-tailed armadillo ( Cabassous ), the other three species are attributable. This, in turn, all of the family of armadillos ( Dasypodidae ) are referenced. Within the family, the genus Cabassous is a member of the subfamily Tolypeutinae, the nearest related form is the giant armadillo ( Priodontes ) is forming the sister taxon. Also closely related are the ball armadillos ( Tolypeutes ). The Tolypeutinae are doing compared to the subfamilies of Euphractinae with the bristle armadillos ( Chaetophractus ) and the Chlamyphorinae with the Gürtelmull. Originally, the genus Cabassous was referenced in this subfamily until DNA tests disproved this. The Euphractinae and Tolypeutinae separated based on molecular genetic analyzes are already in the Oligocene 33 million years ago, then subject to the Tolypeutinae since the early Miocene a stronger splitting. Fossil evidence from small naked-tailed armadillo are not known.

There are no subspecies of the Little naked-tailed armadillo known, so that the species is monotypic. Described it was founded in 1980 by Ralph Martin Wetzel as part of a revision of the genus Cabassous, the species name chacoensis refers to the Gran Chaco region as a habitat.

Threat and protection

The little naked-tailed armadillo and in regions in front with a average very thin human occupation, the greatest threat is the loss of habitat due to agriculture, mainly through the increased cultivation of peanuts, sorghum and sesame seeds, for which the soft soils are ideal. Moreover, it is often tracked from free-range domestic dogs in his caves. In part, it is also used as food for humans. From the IUCN and the species is currently 'low risk' ( near threatened ) classified, some researchers take the increasing agriculture in the Gran Chaco region a decrease of up to 25 % of the total population, and plead for a higher hazard classification. In Argentina, it is in some national parks, such as the National Park Talampaya home.