Dasypus kappleri
| Greater long-nosed armadillo | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cingulata |
| Family: | Dasypodidae |
| Subfamily: | Dasypodinae |
| Genus: | Dasypus |
| Species: | D. kappleri |
| Binomial name | |
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Dasypus kappleri Krauss, 1862 |
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| Greater long-nosed armadillo range | |
The greater long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus kappleri) is a South American species of armadillo found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It is a solitary, nocturnal, terrestrial animal that feeds on arthropods and other invertebrates, usually living in the vicinity of streams and swamps.
One of the larger species of armadillo, it measures 83 to 106 cm (33 to 42 in) in total length and generally weighing 8.5 to 10.5 kg (19 to 23 lb), though it can reach as much as 15 kg (33 lb). Spurs on its hind legs allow it to crawl on its knees into narrow tunnels.
Two subspecies are recognised; D. k. kappleri Krauss, 1862, from southeastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, The Guianas and the lower part of the Amazon Basin in Brazil; D. k. pastasae Thomas, 1901, from eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northeastern Bolivia and the upper part of the Amazon basin in Brazil.
The greater long-nose armadillo is the largest armadillo in its genus. Its head-and-body length is between 51 and 57 cm (20 and 22 in) and its tail between 32 and 48 cm (13 and 19 in), with a weight usually varying between 8.5 and 10.5 kg (19 and 23 lb). Like other armadillos, the forequarters and the hindquarters are each protected by an armoured shield, and in this species, there are seven or eight ossified rings between the two. A distinguishing characteristic of this species is the transverse rows of large projecting scales on the hind side of the rear legs.
This armadillo is native to tropical northeastern South America. Its range includes Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Colombia to the east of the Andes, Venezuela to the south of the Orinoco River, and the Amazon Basin of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and northeastern Bolivia. It is a mammal of humid lowland forest in the basins of the Orinoco and Amazon. It also occurs in patches of forest in savannah areas. It is common in forested areas in the uplands where less hunting takes place, and forages on floodplains near headwater streams, in palm swamps, on hill sides and hill tops.
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Wikipedia