New Article In Press!
C.E. Angarita Yanes: Registros del armadillo coletrapo norteño, Cabassous centralis (Cingulata: Chlamyphoridae), para el departamento de Norte de Santander, Colombia
Dear friends and colleagues,
We are delighted to announce another issue of Edentata! We invite you to download it free of charge from Edentata’s website, https://www.xenarthrans.org/edentata-newsletter/.
Edentata 22 includes seven articles and a News section packed with interesting information.
This issue includes a great review of the distribution, ecology, and conservation of Xenarthra in Bolivia; first estimates of the potential lifespan of giant armadillos; and a description of the variations of dorsal carapace structures in giant armadillos that can be useful for their individual identification. You will also find new distribution records for armadillos in northwestern Bolivia, giant anteaters in southern Brazil, and silky anteaters in northeastern Brazil.
Best wishes, and many thanks to all authors and reviewers!
The editorial team of Edentata
New Article In Press!
Desbiez et al: First estimates of potential lifespan of giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) in the wild
New article in press!
Barasoain et al: Diversity and variation of dorsal carapace structures in the giant armadillo Priodontes maximus (Kerr, 1792) and their potential use for individual identification
What are the whereabouts of the giant anteater in sugar cane-dominated landscapes of south-
eastern Brazil? This was the central question that underpinned a project that our Specialist
Group member Adriano Chiarello coordinated years ago and based the thesis of his then
doctoral student Natalia Versiani, among other theses and master's dissertations still in
progress at his lab. Their main results show that, surprisingly, they still occupy 50% of these
landscapes, which can be good or bad news, depending on whether we look at the glass as
being half full or half empty… The results also reveal that this animal occurs more likely in
the areas that concentrate native vegetation, including permanent preservation areas and legal
reserves. Long and prosperous life, therefore, to the Brazilian Forest Code, which protects
native vegetation in private rural properties.
Finally, they reveal that the giant anteater makes more intensive use of dirt roads, perhaps
seeking these to minimize energy losses crisscrossing these modified landscapes. They might
be even using these margins as foraging opportunities. Nevertheless, as these might expose
them to road hazards, the study highlights the need for more attention to unpaved roads.
N.F. Versiani et al. (2021): Protected areas and unpaved roads mediate habitat use of the
giant anteater in anthropogenic landscapes. Journal of Mammalogy, gyab004.