Edentata 11(1) - Anteater, Sloth & Armadillo Specialist Group

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Master’s thesis, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Rummel, R. G. 1988. Arboreal activity in a captive giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Animal Keeper’s Forum 15(1): 16–17. Schaller, G. B. 1983. Mammals and their biomass on a Brazilian ranch. Arq. Zool. 31: 1–36. Shaw, J. H. and Carter, T. S. 1980. Giant anteaters. Nat. Hist. 89: 62–67. Shaw, J. H., Carter, T. S. and Machado-Neto, J. 1985. Ecology of the giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla in Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais, Brazil: a pilot study. In: The Evolution and Ecology of Armadillos, Sloths, and Vermilinguas, G. G. Montgomery (ed.), pp. 379–384. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. Shaw, J. H., Machado-Neto, J. and Carter, T. S. 1987. Behavior of free-living giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Biotropica 19(3): 255–259. Silveira, L., Rodrigues, F. H. G., Jacomo, A. T. A. and Diniz, J. A. F. 1999. Impact of wildfires on the megafauna of Emas National Park, Central Brazil. Oryx 33(2): 108–114. Soriano, B. M. A., Oliveira, H., Catto, J. B., Comastri Filho, J. A., Galdino, S. and Salis, S. M. 1997. Plano de utilização da fazenda Nhumirim. Documentos 21, Embrapa Pantanal, Corumbá, MS. Thomas, L., Laake, J. L., Strindberg, S., Marques, F. F. C., Buckland, S. T., Borchers, D. L., Anderson, D. R., Burnham, K. P., Hedley, S. L., Pollard, J. H., Bishop, J. R. B. and Marques, T. A. 2006. Distance 5.1 release 1. Research Unit for Wildlife Population Assessment, University of St. Andrews, UK Young, R. J., Coelho, C. M. and Wieloch, D. R. A. 2003. A note on the climbing abilities of giant anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Xenarthra, Myrmecophagidae). Bol. Mus. Biol. Mello Leitão (Nova Ser.) 15: 41–46. 10 Edentata no. 11(1) • 2010
New Data on Armadillos (Xenarthra: Dasypodidae) for Central Patagonia, Argentina Abstract Agustín M. Abba Marcela J. Nabte Daniel E. Udrizar Sauthier Armadillos represent the most diverse family of xenarthrans. Although many studies have been done on these mammals, several topics, such as their local distribution, natural history, behavioral ecology and conservation, remain poorly known. Chaetophractus villosus and Zaedyus pichiy are the most common armadillos in extra-Andean Patagonia, a vast area in southern Argentina and Chile that encompasses different ecosystems and has been modified by human activities, mainly by sheep grazing. In this work we present new data on the distribution, natural history, conservation, and ecology of C. villosus and Z. pichiy from central Patagonia (Chubut and Río Negro provinces, Argentina). We registered 60 localities for C. villosus and 35 for Z. pichiy that confirm their presence in wide sectors of central Patagonia. Furthermore, we confirmed that these two armadillo species suffer high rates of mortality due to their use as a protein source, hunting by dogs, road traffic, and poisoning, among others. We conclude that their populations are at risk of overexploitation and local extinction. The basic knowledge provided here will be a first step towards the conservation of these characteristic Patagonian mammals. Keywords: Chaetophractus villosus, Zaedyus pichiy, new records, distribution. Introduction Armadillos (Mammalia: Dasypodidae) represent the most diverse family of recent xenarthrans (Wetzel, 1985a, b). Although many scientific publications exist on these species (see Superina, 2010), several topics, such as the natural history, local distribution, behavioral ecology, and conservation, remain poorly studied (McDonough and Loughry, 2008). Extra-Andean Patagonia occupies an area of 750,000 km 2 and encompasses different ecosystems, from grasslands to shrub-steppes and semi-desert. Phytogeographically, the area includes the Patagonian steppe, the Monte shrub-steppes, and scrublands (Cabrera, 1976). Human activities have modified most of the Patagonian region, most notably by sheep grazing on the natural vegetation. There is evidence that grazing by domestic herbivores has been modifying the vegetation and accelerating soil degradation processes since the beginning of the twentieth century (e.g., Beeskow et al., 1987; Rostagno and Del Valle, 1988; Bisigato and Bertiller, 1997). Most of Patagonia is dominated by strong and constant west winds. Precipitation levels decrease from west to east; most of the region receives less than 200 mm per year. Mean annual temperature varies between 12°C in the northeastern part and 3°C toward the south (Paruelo et al., 1998). However, minimum temperatures in the Somuncurá plateau are among the coldest recorded for Argentina (−35°C in Maquinchao, Río Negro province). Today, four species of armadillos are known to inhabit Patagonia (including Argentina and Chile): Chaetophractus vellerosus (Gray, 1865), C. villosus (Desmarest, 1804), Chlamyphorus truncatus (Harlan, 1825), and Zaedyus pichiy (Desmarest, 1804). Ch. truncatus and C. vellerosus occur only rarely (Abba and Vizcaíno, 2008), but C. villosus and, especially, Z. pichiy are two typical medium-sized mammals from Patagonia (Cabrera and Yepes, 1940; Daciuk, 1974). According to bibliographic records and voucher material from Argentinean mammal collections, only 51 localities have been reported for these two species in Patagonia (Abba and Vizcaíno, 2008; Abba, unpublished data). In this work, we present data on new localities, natural history, conservation, and ecology of C. villosus and Z. pichiy from central Patagonia (Chubut and Río Negro provinces, Argentina). Materials and Methods Fieldwork was carried out during the summers of 2005 to 2007 as part of the dissertation research of two of the authors (MJN and DEUS) and in conjunction with the project “Postglacial Patagonia: evolutionary responses of small mammals to climate change” (National Geographic Society, grant number 7813-05). Data were collected opportunistically and through observation of individuals of Z. pichiy and C. villosus in different areas of central Patagonia, mainly the Chubut river basin, Somuncurá plateau, and Península Valdés. Additionally, we used information from interviews with rural settlers to obtain information on the behavior, habits, diet, abundance, and hunting of armadillos; the detailed results of these interviews are being analyzed and will be published elsewhere. Edentata no. 11(1) • 2010 11
Page 1 and 2: ISSN 1413-4411 (print version) ISSN
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS iii Letter from t
Page 5 and 6: Letter from the Editor Welcome to t
Page 7 and 8: Albinismo Total em Preguiças-de-Ga
Page 9 and 10: (Xenarthra, Bradypus variegatus). E
Page 11 and 12: landscapes characteristic of the re
Page 13 and 14: anteaters killed by a forest fire w
Page 15: Institute of Conservation and Ecolo
Page 19 and 20: Discussion Like all armadillos, C.
Page 21 and 22: Number Localities Province Lat. (S)
Page 23 and 24: Rostagno, C. M. and del Valle, H. F
Page 25 and 26: marcando os animais com tinta no do
Page 27 and 28: Referências Beebe, W. 1926. The th
Page 29 and 30: agrícolas (Fonseca e Aguiar, 2004)
Page 31 and 32: conservadas. O ambiente era semelha
Page 33 and 34: Vermelho das Espécies Ameaçadas d
Page 35 and 36: Cuevas de Armadillos (Cingulata: Da
Page 37 and 38: D. kappleri. Sin embargo, no descar
Page 39 and 40: site, experimental design and resea
Page 41 and 42: escatados por CORMACARENA (Entidad
Page 43 and 44: estacionalidad en condiciones de ca
Page 45 and 46: comportamientos del macho y a la de
Page 47 and 48: Atropellar (RUN). La hembra se encu
Page 49 and 50: Post Cópula Macho (PCM). El macho,
Page 51 and 52: y posee las propiedades físicas qu
Page 53 and 54: TABLA 3. Análisis proximal de la d
Page 55 and 56: Dados Reprodutivos da População C
Page 57 and 58: 2007. Em Morford e Meyers (2003) h
Page 59 and 60: Reevaluation of the Geographical Di
Page 61 and 62: distribution of B. tridactylus and
Page 63 and 64: Table 1, continued. Locality Source
Page 65 and 66: We followed Phillips et al. (2006)
Page 67 and 68:
Schinz, H. R. 1825. Das Thierreich
Page 69 and 70:
season starts in mid-April and cont
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of the tree) in order to know which
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espectively). The correlation was s
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Eisenberg, J. F. and Thorington Jr.
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Figure 1. Barro Colorado Island and
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Presence of Amblyomma cajennense in
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Figueiredo, L. T. M., Badra, S. J.
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se deve à pouca flexibilidade do c
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uma altura de aproximadamente 12 m.
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NEWS MEETINGS Good news: cacao agro
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Edentata — Instructions to Author
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Results This section should highlig
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Edentata — Instrucciones para los
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Materiales y Métodos Esta sección
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Edentata — Instruções aos autor
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No caso de que se enumere uma lista
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Envio de manuscritos Os manuscritos
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Edentata The Newsletter of the IUCN
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Edentata 11(1) - Anteater, Sloth & Armadillo Specialist Group

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