Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference
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Reveals That Glyptodonts Evolved from Eocene Armadillos
Molecular Ecology (2016) 25, 3499–3508 doi: 10.1111/mec.13695 Ancient DNA from the extinct South American giant glyptodont Doedicurus sp. (Xenarthra: Glyptodontidae) reveals that glyptodonts evolved from Eocene armadillos KIEREN J. MITCHELL,* AGUSTIN SCANFERLA,† ESTEBAN SOIBELZON,‡ RICARDO BONINI,‡ JAVIER OCHOA§ and ALAN COOPER* *Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia, †CONICET-Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO), 9 de Julio No 14 (A4405BBB), Rosario de Lerma, Salta, Argentina, ‡Division Paleontologıa de Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo (UNLP), CONICET, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, La Plata, Buenos Aires 1900, Argentina, §Museo Arqueologico e Historico Regional ‘Florentino Ameghino’, Int De Buono y San Pedro, Rıo Tercero, Cordoba X5850, Argentina Abstract Glyptodonts were giant (some of them up to ~2400 kg), heavily armoured relatives of living armadillos, which became extinct during the Late Pleistocene/early Holocene alongside much of the South American megafauna. Although glyptodonts were an important component of Cenozoic South American faunas, their early evolution and phylogenetic affinities within the order Cingulata (armoured New World placental mammals) remain controversial. In this study, we used hybridization enrichment and high-throughput sequencing to obtain a partial mitochondrial genome from Doedicurus sp., the largest (1.5 m tall, and 4 m long) and one of the last surviving glyptodonts. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that glyptodonts fall within the diver- sity of living armadillos. Reanalysis of morphological data using a molecular ‘back- bone constraint’ revealed several morphological characters that supported a close relationship between glyptodonts and the tiny extant fairy armadillos (Chlamyphori- nae). -
The Giant Armadillo of the Gran Chaco
The Giant Armadillo of the Gran Chaco A giant armadillo Priodontes maximus at the Saenz-Peña Zoo in South America raises up, balancing with its tail, a common posture for this large species. Venezuela The Guianas: Guyana hat’s the size of Texas and Arizona combined, reaches temperatures Suriname French Guiana Wof 115 degrees Fahrenheit, has plants with 15-inch-long thorns, Colombia and houses an armadillo larger than a coffee table? The South American Gran Chaco, where giant armadillos wander freely. The Gran Chaco region covers more than 1 million square kilometers of Argentina, Bolivia, Perú Brazil Paraguay, and Brazil, with approximately 60 percent in Argentina and Bolivia just 7 percent in Brazil. The region is a mosaic of grasslands, savannas, Paraguay • open woodlands, dry thorn forests, and gallery forests that provide a GRAN CHACO 15 range of habitats where some diverse animal species flourish. • In the gallery forests of the humid Chaco, we regularly encounter animals Argentina that are associated with tropical and subtropical forests, like jaguars, owl monkeys, howler monkeys, peccaries, deer, tapirs, and various kinds of eden- tates, a group of mammals that includes sloths, anteaters, and armadillos. The Gran Chaco—from the Quechua Although there are no sloths in the Chaco, we regularly find lesser anteaters 2003 and sometimes come across giant anteaters. Both the nine-banded armadillo, Indian language of Bolivia for “great hunting ground”—crosses four coun- also found in Texas, and the tatu bola, or three-banded armadillo, which you tries and encompasses an area the can see at the Wild Animal Park’s Animal Care Center and the San Diego Zoo’s size of Texas and Arizona combined. -
El Armadillo, Cabassous Centralis (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae) En Agroecosistemas Con Café De Costa Rica
El armadillo, Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae) en agroecosistemas con café de Costa Rica Ronald J. Sánchez-Brenes1 & Javier Monge2 1. Universidad Nacional Costa Rica, Sede Regional Chorotega, Centro Mesoamericano de Desarrollo Sostenible del Trópico Seco (CEMEDE-UNA), Nicoya, Costa Rica; [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6979-1336 2. Universidad de Costa Rica, Facultad de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Escuela de Agronomía, Centro de Investigación en Protección de Cultivos, Instituto de Investigaciones Agronómicas, San José, Costa Rica; [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-5774 Recibido 09-VIII-2019 • Corregido 11-IX-2019 • Aceptado 30-IX-2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v11i3.2724 ABSTRACT: “The armadillo, Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: RESUMEN: Introducción: El armadillo Cabassous centralis se clasifica Chlamyphoridae) in a Costa Rican coffee agro-ecosystem”. Introduction: como una especie con Datos Insuficientes que se encuentra desde The rare Cabassous centralis armadillo is classified as a Data Deficient México hasta el norte de América del Sur. Objetivo: Ampliar la distri- species found from Mexico to northern South America). Objective: To bución ecológica de C. centralis. Métodos: Colocamos cuatro cámaras expand the ecological distribution of C. centralis. Methods: We placed trampa en sitios estratégicos como fuentes de alimentación, madrigue- four trap cameras in strategic sites such as food sites, burrows, bodies of ras, cuerpos de agua y transición al bosque secundario, en San Ramón, water and transition to the secondary forest, in San Ramón, Costa Rica. Costa Rica. Resultados: Obtuvimos un registro de C. centralis en la tran- Results: We obtained a record of C. -
(Dasypus) in North America Based on Ancient Mitochondrial DNA
bs_bs_banner A revised evolutionary history of armadillos (Dasypus) in North America based on ancient mitochondrial DNA BETH SHAPIRO, RUSSELL W. GRAHAM AND BRANDON LETTS Shapiro, B. Graham, R. W. & Letts, B.: A revised evolutionary history of armadillos (Dasypus) in North America based on ancient mitochondrial DNA. Boreas. 10.1111/bor.12094. ISSN 0300-9483. The large, beautiful armadillo, Dasypus bellus, first appeared in North America about 2.5 million years ago, and was extinct across its southeastern US range by 11 thousand years ago (ka). Within the last 150 years, the much smaller nine-banded armadillo, D. novemcinctus, has expanded rapidly out of Mexico and colonized much of the former range of the beautiful armadillo. The high degree of morphological similarity between these two species has led to speculation that they might be a single, highly adaptable species with phenotypical responses and geographical range fluctuations resulting from environmental changes. If this is correct, then the biology and tolerance limits for D. novemcinctus could be directly applied to the Pleistocene species, D. bellus. To investigate this, we isolated ancient mitochondrial DNA from late Pleistocene-age specimens of Dasypus from Missouri and Florida. We identified two genetically distinct mitochondrial lineages, which most likely correspond to D. bellus (Missouri) and D. novemcinctus (Florida). Surprisingly, both lineages were isolated from large specimens that were identified previously as D. bellus. Our results suggest that D. novemcinctus, which is currently classified as an invasive species, was already present in central Florida around 10 ka, significantly earlier than previously believed. Beth Shapiro ([email protected]), Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; Russell W. -
Guidelines to Identify Individual Giant Armadillos, Priodontes Maximus (Kerr, 1792), Through Camera Traps
Edentata 20 (2019): 1–16 DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2019.Edentata-20-1.2.en Electronic version: ISSN 1852-9208 Print version: ISSN 1413-4411 http://www.xenarthrans.org Guidelines to identify individual giant armadillos, Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792), through camera traps Gabriel Fávero MassocatoA,B,D,1 & Arnaud L. J. DesbiezA,C,D A Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), Rua Afonso Lino Barbosa, 142, Chácara Cachoeira, 79040-290, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil B Houston Zoo, 6200 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, Texas 77030, USA C Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Murrayfield, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS, United Kingdom D Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), Rodovia Dom Pedro I, km 47, 12960-000, Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil 1 Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Camera trapping is one of the main tools used to advance Priodontes maximus research as it can provide information on the species' presence, densities, relative abundance, home ranges, movement, ac- tivity patterns, habitat use, reproduction, and parental care. Photographic records obtained by camera traps allow the individual identification of P. maximus if properly examined. The aim of this work is to pro- vide researchers with the tools to identify individuals of P. maximus in their regions and stimulate further research and conservation work on the species. We use nine years of camera trap work to present and il- lustrate the different individual identification patterns that can be used to distinguish individuals as well as reproductive status and age class. We describe six different morphological characteristics that can be used for individual identification: cephalic scale pattern, tail markings, light band width and shape above the base of tail, hind limbs, flank scale pattern, and natural marks. -
Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus) Michael T
Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) Michael T. Mengak Armadillos are present throughout much of Georgia and are considered an urban pest by many people. Armadillos are common in central and southern Georgia and can easily be found in most of Georgia’s 159 counties. They may be absent from the mountain counties but are found northward along the Interstate 75 corridor. They have poorly developed teeth and limited mobility. In fact, armadillos have small, peg-like teeth that are useful for grinding their food but of little value for capturing prey. No other mammal in Georgia has bony skin plates or a “shell”, which makes the armadillo easy to identify. Just like a turtle, the shell is called a carapace. Only one species of armadillo is found in Georgia and the southeastern U.S. However, 20 recognized species are found throughout Central and South America. These include the giant armadillo, which can weigh up to 130 pounds, and the pink fairy armadillo, which weighs less than 4 ounces. Taxonomy Order Cingulata – Armadillos Family Dasypodidae – Armadillo Nine-banded Armadillo – Dasypus novemcinctus The genus name Dasypus is thought to be derived from a Greek word for hare or rabbit. The armadillo is so named because the Aztec word for armadillo meant turtle-rabbit. The species name novemcinctus refers to the nine movable bands on the middle portion of their shell or carapace. Their common name, armadillo, is derived from a Spanish word meaning “little armored one.” Figure 1. Nine-banded Armadillo. Photo by author, 2014. Status Armadillos are considered both an exotic species and a pest. -
Chaetophractus Nationi)
Journal of Mammalogy, 96(4):673–689, 2015 DOI:10.1093/jmammal/gyv082 Systematics of hairy armadillos and the taxonomic status of the Andean hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus nationi) Agustín M. Abba, Guillermo H. Cassini, Guido Valverde, Marie-Ka Tilak, Sergio F. Vizcaíno, Mariella Superina, and Frédéric Delsuc* División Zoología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CONICET, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina (AMA) Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-abstract/96/4/673/846208 by guest on 04 September 2019 División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (C1405DJR), Argentina; Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján (6700) Pcia. de Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET, Argentina (GHC) Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia (GV) Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, La Paz, Bolivia (GV) Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, UMR5554, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France (M-KT, FD) División Paleontología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CONICET, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina (SFV) Laboratorio de Endocrinología de la Fauna Silvestre, IMBECU-CCT CONICET Mendoza, Casilla de Correos 855, Mendoza 5500, Argentina (MS) *Correspondent: [email protected] Hairy armadillos constitute an ecologically homogeneous and morphologically similar group with currently 5 species classified in the subfamily Euphractinae. Among them, the Andean hairy armadillo Chaetophractus nationi (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Dasypodidae) is a small, endangered armadillo that has long been suspected to represent a high-altitude variant of Chaetophractus vellerosus. -
The Conservation Game
From Penguins to Pandas - the conservation game Armadillo Fact Files © RZSS 2014 Armadillos There are 21 species of armadillo. They are divided into 8 groups: dwarf fairy giant hairy long nosed naked tail three banded yellow banded All armadillos have an outer covering of strong bony plates and horny skin. Most of the species can bring their legs in under this covering to protect themselves but it is only the three banded armadillos that can roll up into a tight ball. Most are active at night (nocturnal) and have poor eyesight but very good hearing and sense of smell. They all have large claws on their front feet to dig for insects and for burrowing. There is little known about some species of armadillo. At the time of writing (May 2014), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) are studying four species - giant, southern naked tail, nine banded and yellow banded. Edinburgh Zoo, owned by RZSS holds 2 species, the larger hairy and the southern three banded. These animals are not on show but are sometimes seen in our animal presentations, such as ‘Animal Antics’. Armadillo in different languages Portuguese: tatu Spanish: armadillo (it means ‘little armoured one’ in Spanish) French: tatou Mandarin Chinese: 犰狳 (qiu yu) 2 Dwarf armadillo 1 species dwarf or pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) Distribution Argentina and Chile Diet insects, spiders and plants Breeding gestation 60 days litter size 1 - 2 Size Length: 26 - 33cm Tail length 10 - 14cm Weight 1 - 1.5kg Interesting facts comes out in daytime unlike most other species, it hibernates over -
Screaming Hairy Armadillo Class: Mammalia
Chaetophractus vellerosus Screaming Hairy Armadillo Class: Mammalia. Order: Cingulata. Family: Dasypodidae. Other names: Small hairy armadillo, small screaming armadillo, crying armadillo. Physical Description: One of the smallest and most slender species of Chaetrophractus, the screaming hairy armadillo weighs up to 2lbs and averages about 1.5ft long, with long ears and more hair than any other armadillo species. This species has around 18 bands, of which 6 to 8 are moveable. They cannot curl all the way into a ball due to a small number of moveable bands, but still use their “armor” as protection. These animals are well adapted for digging and foraging in the undergrowth and have short legs, long powerful claws, and pointed snouts. Diet in the Wild: Primarily insects, also may eat plants and other small animals. Diet at the Zoo: Insectivore diet, mealworms, wax worms, bananas. Habitat & Range: Desert, grassland, scrubland, and forest of Central and South America. Life Span: Up to 16 yrs. Perils in the wild: Coyote, jaguars, bobcats, cougars, wolves, bears, raccoons and larger birds of prey. Some people in Mexico, Central America and South America also eat armadillos, whose meat is sometimes used as a substitute for pork. Physical Adaptations: Like other armadillos, it wears an armor of scutes (thin bony plates) on the top of its head and body for protection. It has poor eyesight, relying primarily on its senses of hearing and smell to detect food and predators. It has just a few peg-like molars. Since it primarily eats insects, there is no need to waste energy on producing large, strong teeth for heavy chewing. -
Influence of Tertiary Paleoenvironmental Changes On
BMC Evolutionary Biology BioMed Central Research article Open Access Influence of Tertiary paleoenvironmental changes on the diversification of South American mammals: a relaxed molecular clock study within xenarthrans Frédéric Delsuc*1,2, Sergio F Vizcaíno3 and Emmanuel JP Douzery1 Address: 1Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Paléobiologie et Phylogénie, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université Montpellier II, Montpellier, France, 2The Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand and 3Departamento Científico Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Argentina Email: Frédéric Delsuc* - [email protected]; Sergio F Vizcaíno - [email protected]; Emmanuel JP Douzery - [email protected] * Corresponding author Published: 28 April 2004 Received: 25 December 2003 Accepted: 28 April 2004 BMC Evolutionary Biology 2004, 4:11 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/4/11 © 2004 Delsuc et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL. MammalsXenarthransEvolutionPalaeontologyPhylogenyRelaxed molecular clockBayesian datingGlobal changeTertiarySouth America Abstract Background: Comparative genomic data among organisms allow the reconstruction of their phylogenies and evolutionary time scales. Molecular -
The Pink Fairy Armadillo
The Pink Fairy Armadillo By David Everson On day six of creation, God created the beasts of the earth (Genesis 1:25). Among beasts that God created is one on the extreme end of its family tree, the pink fairy armadillo, also called a “sand-swimmer” because it is said to move through soil as fast as a fish swims in water. It is an animal that deserves a better understanding of its physical features and lifestyle. Let’s look into the life and features of this “beast of the field.” The pink fairy armadillo is the smallest member of armadillo family, only being 3.5 to 4.5 inches long and weighing about 4.2 ounces. Its life is spent in the deserts of central Argentina and can be found inhabiting sandy plains, dunes and scrubby grassland habitats. It gets its name from the pink color of the shell, which comes from underlying blood vessels that show up through the shell, giving it a pale rose or pink color. The pink fairy armadillos have small eyes, silky yellowish white fur and a flexible dorsal shell that is solely attached to its body by a thin dorsal membrane. This animal is nocturnal and lives largely alone. It has a diet of mainly insects, worms, snails and various plant parts that it finds chiefly by the sense of smell and hearing. It’s burrowing ability comes from its two front claws, which are very strong and very tough. Heavy storms and rainfall will force the pink fairy armadillos to come out of their burrows where they spend most of their day. -
Medium and Large Mammals of the Mid Planas River Basin, Colombia Mamíferos Medianos Y Grandes De La Cuenca Media Del Río Planas, Colombia
DOI: 10.21068/c2019.v20n02a06 Medium and large mammals of the mid Planas River basin, Colombia Mamíferos medianos y grandes de la cuenca media del río Planas, Colombia Carlos A. Aya-Cuero , Federico Mosquera-Guerra , Diego A. Esquivel , Fernando Trujillo and Daniel Brooks Abstract We describe the diversity of medium and large mammals from an area in the Colombian Orinoco River basin. For three years we systematically used camera traps at 72 sampling stations and walked forest and savanna transects to determine the diversity of medium and large mammals. Relative abundance was documented for 29 native and 2 feral mammals from a sampling effort of 1789 camera-days and 469.5 km walked. Thirty-one species of mammals (9 orders, 19 families) were recorded. Threatened species recorded included the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), and giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). The most abundant species were the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) and the common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis). We recorded rare species, including the bush dog (Speothos venaticus) and the Llano semi-endemic long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus sabanicola). The species documented face diverse pressures, including development, hunting for subsistence, and competition with invasive species and livestock. Our results suggest that the surveyed areas are important for the conservation of mammals in the eastern plains of Colombia. Keywords. Meta. Riparian forest. Savannas. Species composition. Resumen Estudiamos la diversidad de mamíferos medianos y grandes en un área no protegida de la Orinoquia Colombiana durante tres años, empleando cámaras trampa en 72 estaciones de muestreo y haciendo recorridos por bosques y sabanas.