Mariella Superina
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Chlamyphorus truncatus

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CINGULATA DASYPODIDAE

Scientific Name: Chlamyphorus truncatus
Species Authority: Harlan, 1825
Common Name/s:
English – Pink Fairy Armadillo, Lesser Fairy Armadillo, Lesser Pichi Ciego
Spanish – Pichiciego
Taxonomic Notes: Three subspecies have been described (Yepes 1932).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Data Deficient     ver 3.1
Year Published: 2010
Assessor/s: Superina, M. & Abba, A.M.
Reviewer/s: Roig, V.G. & Seitz, V.
Contributor/s: Roig, V.G.
Justification:
Chlamyphorus truncatus is listed as Data Deficient as there is little information on the population status of this species, and its biology and ecology are poorly known. Throughout its range there is extensive habitat degradation, especially from cattle, but the actual effect on the populations are not well understood. The species remains a priority for further survey work, as the availability of additional information may well show that the species requires listing as Near Threatened or in a threatened category.
History:
2008 – Data Deficient (IUCN 2008)
2006 – Near Threatened (IUCN 2006)
1996 – Endangered
1994 – Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994)
1990 – Insufficiently Known (IUCN 1990)
1988 – Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1986 – Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1982 – Insufficiently Known (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: This smallest of all armadillo species is endemic to central Argentina, where it is found in the provinces of Buenos Aires (southern part only), Catamarca, Cordoba, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Rio Negro, San Juan and San Luis.
Countries:
Native:
Argentina (Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Córdoba, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Rio Negro, San Juan, San Luis)
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: It may be relatively rare, but nothing is known about its population size or trend.
Population Trend: Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: This poorly known, nocturnal species is found in dry grassland and sandy plains with shrubby vegetation.
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): Habitat conversion due to agriculture (ploughing of fields) and cattle ranching (compaction of soil) are the predominant threats this species is facing, but predation by domestic cats and dogs is also contributing to its decline.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: It is present in a number of protected areas including Lihué Calel National Park in La Pampa (9,905 ha), and some provincial protected areas in Mendoza. There is national and provincial legislation specifically in place for its protection, such as Provincial Law 6599 Mendoza. Further studies into the population status, demography and ecology of this species are needed.

Bibliography [top]

Aguiar, J. M. and da Fonseca, G. A. B. 2008. Conservation status of the Xenarthra. In: S. F. Vizcaino and W. J. Loughry (eds), The Biology of the Xenarthra, pp. 215-231. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (comps and eds). 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Gardner, A. L. 1993. Order Xenarthra. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Gardner, A. L. 2005. Order Cingulata. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Groombridge, B. (ed.). 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 29 June 2010).

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA and London, UK.

Redford, K. H. and Eisenberg, J. F. 1992. Mammals of the Neotropics, The Southern Cone: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.

Superina, M. 2006. New information on population declines in Pink Fairy Armadillos. Edentata 7: 48-50.

Thornback, J. and Jenkins, M. 1982. The IUCN Mammal Red Data Book. Part 1: Threatened mammalian taxa of the Americas and the Australasian zoogeographic region (excluding Cetacea). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Wetzel, R. M. 1982. Systematics, distribution, ecology, and conservation of South American edentates. In: M. A. Mares and H. H. Genoways (eds), Mammalian Biology in South America, pp. 345?375. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Yepes, J. 1932. Las formas geográficas de pichiciego menor (Chlamyphorus truncatus Harl.). Physis (Buenos Aires) 11: 9-18.
Citation: Superina, M., Abba, A.M. & Roig, V. 2010. Chlamyphorus truncatus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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