Llanos long-nosed armadillo
{{Short description|Species of mammal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Llanos long-nosed armadillo
| image = Dasypus sabanicola - Feijo et al 2018 holotype.tif
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Dasypus
| species = sabanicola
| authority = Mondolfi, 1968
| synonyms =
| range_map = Llanos Long-nosed Armadillo area.png
| range_map_caption = Llanos long-nosed armadillo range
}}
The Llanos long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus sabanicola) or northern long-nosed armadillo{{cite web|url=https://www.xenarthrans.org/species/armadillos-2/northern-long-nosed-armadillo/|publisher=Xenarthrans.org|title=Northern long-nosed armadillo}}{{cite web|url=https://nhpbs.org/wild/dasypodidae.asp|title=Dasypodidae - Armadillos|publisher=NHPBS}} is a species of armadillo in the family Dasypodidae.{{MSW3 Cingulata | id = 11700017 | page = 95}} It is endemic to Colombia and Venezuela, where its habitat is the intermittently flooded grassland of the Llanos. The species is closely related to the nine-banded armadillo and the great long-nosed armadillo. It has very little hair and can weigh up to 22 pounds (9.5 kg), and can grow to about 2.1 feet (60 cm) long. It lives in dense cover near limestone formations. Like most other armadillos, it eats ants.
Description
Like other members of its genus, the Llanos long-nosed armadillo has a carapace, a hard armour-like covering consisting of ossified dermal plates covered with leathery skin. The hind part of the body is covered by six to eleven moveable bands which give the animal flexibility. The tail is armoured, but the face, neck and underparts lack armour and are sparsely covered with pale fur. The legs are short and the four toes on the forefeet and five on the hind feet are long with strong claws. Adults grow to a maximum head-and-body length of around {{convert|570|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} with a tail of up to {{convert|483|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}, and a weight of up to {{convert|10|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://armadillo-online.org/dasypus.html |title=Long-nosed armadillos |publisher=Armadillo Online! |accessdate=7 October 2015}}
Distribution and habitat
Ecology
The species has a home range somewhere between {{convert|1.7|and|11.6|ha}}. It emerges to forage at dawn and dusk and feeds on small invertebrates such as ants, termites and beetles. In Venezuela, it breeds between October and March. The litter size is usually four. As is the case with other members of Dasypus,{{Cite journal |date=May–June 1998 |last1=Loughry |first1=W.J |last2=Prodohl |first2=P. A |last3=McDonough |first3=C. M |last4=Avise |first4=J. C. |author-link4=John Avise |title=Polyembryony in Armadillos |journal=American Scientist |volume=86 |pages=274–279 |url=http://www.valdosta.edu/~jloughry/Reprints/AmSci.pdf |bibcode=1998AmSci..86..274L |doi=10.1511/1998.3.274 |issue=3}} all the embryos develop from a single zygote, making them identical quadruplets.{{cite book|author=Gardner, Alfred L.|title=Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbU3d7EUCm8C&pg=PA137 |year=2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-28242-8 |pages=130, 137}}
Status
The floodplains on which D. sabanicola lives are increasingly being used for the production of biofuels, for agro-industry and for tree plantations. This reduces the quantity and the quality of the habitat available to the armadillo. Population counts have not been done, but the animal is hunted for food, and there are reports from people living in the area that it is being seen less often. For these reasons, and as a precautionary measure, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the animal's conservation status as "near-threatened".
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cingulata}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1761916}}
Category:Myrmecophagous mammals
Category:Least concern biota of South America