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Distribution of armadillos in Colombia, with an analysis of ecoregions and protected areas inhabited

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Abstract

The Cingulata is an ancient order of mammals restricted to the Americas that includes 20 extant armadillo species. Only limited information is available about the six species that occur in Colombia. The objective of the present study was to update their distribution, determine which ecoregions they inhabit, and assess the proportion of their range contained within protected areas. Records were compiled from the literature (theses, scientific articles, books, congress abstracts, environmental impact studies), scientific collections, databases, research institutions, authorities, and independent researchers. A total of 1389 records were validated and mapped. The resulting range maps were compared with those of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and overlaid with maps of protected areas and of terrestrial ecoregions. Armadillos occur in nearly the entire country. The range of Dasypus sabanicola, Cabassous unicinctus, and C. centralis is larger, and that of D. kappleri smaller, than previously thought. Only one ecoregion, the Cordillera Oriental montane forest, is inhabited by all six species, but it represents a low proportion of their range. Five species occur in the Llanos, Apure-Villavicencio dry forests, and Negro-Branco moist forests, with the Llanos being the primary ecoregion for the Near Threatened D. sabanicola. The proportion of the species range lying within protected areas is low in all species, and as low as 3.4% in the case of D. sabanicola, which is clearly insufficient to protect its populations. Complementary strategies are needed to ensure the long-term conservation of the armadillos of Colombia.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the Conservation and Management Program for the Armadillos of the Llanos of Colombia, established by Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales (ODL), Cormacarena, Corporinoquia, Corpometa, Bioparque Los Ocarros, and Fundación Omacha under cooperation agreement PEDGE 1.4.8.1.13.002. The authors wish to thank all researchers and institutions who provided armadillo records.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, carrera 3 No. 26ª-40, barrio La Macarena, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

    Carlos Aya-Cuero

  2. Fundación Kurupira, Diagonal 16 B. 106-65 Int. 5 Apt. 102, 110921243, Fontibón, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

    Carlos Aya-Cuero

  3. Programa de Conservación y Manejo de los Armadillos de los Llanos Orientales: Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales (ODL), Cormacarena, Corporinoquia, Corpometa, Bioparque los Ocarros, Fundación Omacha, Calle 84 No. 21-64, barrio El Polo, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

    Carlos Aya-Cuero, Fernando Trujillo, Federico Mosquera-Guerra, Dalila Caicedo & Mariella Superina

  4. Fundación Omacha, Calle 84 No. 21-64, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

    Fernando Trujillo, Federico Mosquera-Guerra, Dalila Caicedo, Nicole Franco-León & Mariella Superina

  5. Grupo de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas-ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cra. 30 #, 45-03, Bogotá D.C., Colombia

    Federico Mosquera-Guerra

  6. Grupo de Investigación Biodiversidad Unicórdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 No. 76-103, Montería, Córdoba, Colombia

    Julio Chacón-Pacheco

  7. Institución Educativa José María Córdoba, Grupo de Investigación AMDAC, Calle 29, No. 16b-43, Barrio San José, Montería, 230002, Córdoba, Colombia

    Julio Chacón-Pacheco

  8. Laboratorio de Medicina y Endocrinología de la Fauna Silvestre, IMBECU – CCT CONICET Mendoza, C.C. 855, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Mariella Superina

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  1. Carlos Aya-Cuero
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  2. Fernando Trujillo
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  3. Federico Mosquera-Guerra
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  4. Julio Chacón-Pacheco
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  7. Mariella Superina
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Correspondence to Carlos Aya-Cuero.

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Communicated by: Emerson M. Vieira

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Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary Material SM1

— Sources of Colombian armadillo records used in this study. (DOCX 24 kb)

Supplementary Material SM2

— Correction of the geographical coordinates of Dasypus kappleri record IAvH 6858. (DOCX 16 kb)

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Aya-Cuero, C., Trujillo, F., Mosquera-Guerra, F. et al. Distribution of armadillos in Colombia, with an analysis of ecoregions and protected areas inhabited. Mamm Res 64, 569–580 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-019-00435-4

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