3/22/2023 0 Comments Armadillo shellUntil relatively recently, cingulates were placed in the order Xenarthra along with sloths and anteaters, their closest living relatives. It is now recognized as an order, meaning that armadillos are considered to be as evolutionarily distinct as rodents, bats, elephants, and primates. Reuse permitted under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Ĭonsidering the emphasis early taxonomists placed on the number of bands in naming species, it should come as no surprise that the group that includes armadillos and their extinct relatives is termed Cingulata, which essentially means “belted ones.” This term was originally coined by Illiger in 1811 as a family-level name, but since that time it has gradually risen in Linnean rank. Left photo by Brian Gratwicke reused under CC BY 4.0. Note the near-perfect ball it forms when it rolls up. This ability is exclusive to three-banded armadillos (genus Tolypeutes) and is reflected in their common name in Portuguese (tatu bola) and Spanish (tatú bolita), meaning “ball armadillo.” Tolypeutes matacus, the southern three-banded armadillo. But Cabassous unicinctus, a much larger species from tropical South America, is known as the southern naked-tailed armadillo rather than the one-banded armadillo.Īlthough the moveable bands of an armadillo’s carapace provide some flexibility in the carapace, most armadillos are incapable of completely rolling into a ball. novemcinctus, the armadillo that can be found in the southeastern US, is known as the nine-banded armadillo. In some cases, the number of bands is also reflected in the common name of a species. The variable number of bands in the carapaces of living armadillos clearly made an impact on early taxonomists, as the specific epithets of the first five named species were all based on this feature: Cabassous unicinctus (one band), Tolypeutes tricinctus (three bands), Euphractus sexcinctus (six bands), Dasypus septemcinctus (seven bands), and Dasypus novemcinctus (nine bands). Modified from Soibelzon and Leon (2017:fig. above) and a pichi ( Zaedyus pichiy below). In life, it is connected by muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissues. Two different species are represented in this figure a three-banded armadillo ( Tolypeutes sp. In the lower image, note how the carapace can be separated from the rest of the skeleton. Parts of an armadillo carapace separated into different components and viewed from above (upper image) and as a single structure viewed from the side (lower image). An armadillo’s armor also includes a head (cephalic) shield and some sort of tail covering (caudal sheath). The solid areas are known as shields or bucklers (typically an armadillo has a pectoral shield in front and a pelvic shield in back), and the intervening strips are known as bands. In these animals, the bones of the shell completely fuse with ribs and other bones of the skeleton and cannot be separated from them even in a skeletonized specimen.Īrmadillo osteoderms have two basic arrangements: they can butt up against one another tightly on all sides, creating a large, rigid area of bone, or they can form strips that partially overlap one another, resulting in a flexible area of armor. In this regard, armadillo armor also contrasts with that of turtles. These form in the skin – just like some of the skull bones that cover and protect our brain – but unlike skull bones, osteoderms remain in the skin and do not fuse to or have tight attachments with other bones of the skeleton. Their shell, technically known as a carapace, is made up of hundreds to thousands of small bones known as osteoderms. Armadillos are among the most recognizable of mammals thanks to the bony armor that covers most of their body.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |