Cabassous unicinctus
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Cingulata
Dasypodidae
Cabassous
Cabassous unicinctus

description: 9. Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo <i>Cabassous unicinctus</i> <b>French:</b> Tatou a onze bandes / <b>German:</b> Sidliches Nacktschwanzgtrteltier / <b>Spanish:</b> Armadillo de cola desnuda meridional <b>Taxonomy.</b> Dasypus unicinctus Linnaeus, 1758, “Africa.” Corrected by G. L. L. Buf- fon in 1763 to “I'’Amérique.” Restricted by O. Thomas in 1911 to Suriname, South America. Two subspecies are recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> C.u.unicinctusLinnaeus,1758—Colombia,Venezuela,theGuianas,NBrazil,Ecuador,andNEPeru,EoftheAndesandNoftheAmazonRiver. C. u. squamicaudis Lund, 1845 — E Peru, N &amp; E Bolivia, E Paraguay (Amambay and San Pedro departments), and Brazil, S of the Amazon River. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 350-440 mm, tail 160-200 mm, ear 32-39 mm, hindfoot 75-84 mm; weight 2.5-3.6 kg for nominate unicinctus; head-body 290-340 mm, tail 90-140 mm, ear 25-30 mm, hindfoot 65-76 mm; weight 1.6-1.8 kg for squamicaudis. Female Southern Naked-tailed Armadillos are larger than males. Carapace is dark gray; in nominate unicinctus, there is clear, pinkish band around its lower part and 10-13 movable transverse bands. Scutes on first and second complete rows of scapular shield vary from only slightly wider to not as wide as anteroposterior length. Tail is gray, often with pale tip, and naked, with isolated scales only in squamicaudis. Cheek below eye is naked on unicinctus but partially to completely scaled on squamicaudis. Posterior face of pinnae is naked to partially scaled in unicinctus and scaled in squamicaudis. The Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo walks on soles ofits hindfeet, and only tips of front claws are in contact with the ground. Diploid numberis 2n = 46. <b>Habitat.</b> Tropical lowland, rainforest, gallery forest, forest patches, cerrado savannas, and floodable grasslands. Southern Naked-tailed Armadillos can also occur in secondary forest, pasturelands, and eucalypt plantations but not agricultural areas. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Southern Naked-tailed Armadillos are insectivorous, with arthropods (mostly ants and termites) comprising more than 90% of their diets. <b>Breeding.</b> Reproduction of the Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo is aseasonal. It presumably gives birth to single young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Southern Naked-tailed Armadillos are usually nocturnal but diurnal in the Brazilian Cerrado ecoregion. They rotate their body as they dig, forming a round burrow. Burrows are often constructed in termite mounds or riverbanks; entrances tend to be oriented away from prevailing winds. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> The Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo is solitary, primarily fossorial, and difficult to observe. Densities are 27-120 ind/ km”. It emits pig-like grunts when it is threatened. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. There are no major conservation threats facing the Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo, but populations in its southern distribution are subject to some hunting and habitatloss. <b>Bibliography.</b> Bonato et al. (2008), Buffon (1763), Carter &amp; Encarnacao (1983), Dotta &amp; Verdade (2007), Eisenberg et al. (1979), Hayssen (2014a), Machado et al. (1998), Pereira et al. (2009), Smith et al. (2011), Thomas (1911b), Tomas et al. (2009), Trujillo &amp; Superina (2013), Wetzel (1980), Wetzel et al. (2008).
description: Published as part of <i>Russell A. Mittermeier &amp; Don E. Wilson, 2018, Chlamyphoridae, pp. 48-71 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 70, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6623975