11.

Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo

Cabassous chacoensis

French: Tatou du Chaco / German: Chaco-Nacktschwanzgurteltier / Spanish: Armadillo de cola desnuda del Chaco

Taxonomy. Cabassous chacoensis Wetzel, 1980,

“Paraguay, Depto. Presidente Hayes,

5-7 km W Estancia Juan de Zalazar.” This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Gran Chaco of W Paraguay and N Argentina (from Formosa and probably Salta S to San Luis provinces). There are some unconfirmed records from SE Bolivia and adjacent Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 300-350 mm,

tail 90-100 mm, ear 14-15 mm, hindfoot c.61 mm; weight 1.1-5 kg. The Chacoan Nakedtailed Armadillo is the smallest species of Cabassous . Carapace is brown to dark brown, somewhat yellower laterally, and devoid ofhair;it has twelve movable transverse bands. Tail is slender and naked. Ears are tiny, with fleshy expansions on anterior margins of pinnae.

Habitat. Apparently confined to xeric habitats of the Gran Chaco, primarily open thorn forest or thorn scrub with porous non-clay soil.

Food and Feeding. Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillos are insectivorous, eating primarily terrestrial ants and termites but also some plant material (seeds and fruits).

Breeding. Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillos presumably give birth to single young. Activity patterns. Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillos are nocturnal. Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo is solitary and highly fossorial. It vocalizes when it is threatened, sounding like a grunting pig.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The main conservation threats to the Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo are habitat loss and degradation due to agricultural activities, hunting for meat, and predation by dogs.

Bibliography. Hayssen (2014b), Meritt (1985a, 2008), Redford & Eisenberg (1992), Wetzel (1980, 1985b), Wetzel et al. (2008).