Chaetophractus nationi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CINGULATA	DASYPODIDAE

Scientific Name:

Chaetophractus nationi

Species Authority:

(Thomas, 1894)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Andean Hairy Armadillo, Bolivian Hairy Armadillo
Spanish	–	Quirquincho Andino

Taxonomic Notes:

This taxon may in fact represent a subspecies of Chaetophractus vellerosus (Wetzel 1985, Gardner 2005), but more research is required. Some records may therefore have been mis-classified.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Vulnerable A2acd ver 3.1

Year Published:

2010

Assessor/s:

Superina, M. & Abba, A.M.

Reviewer/s:

Bermúdez Larrazabal, L. & Perez Zubieta, J.

Contributor/s:

Vizcaíno, S.

Justification:
Chaetophractus nationi is listed as Vulnerable because data from Bolivia suggest that its populations have experienced a decline exceeding 30% over the last 10 years, largely due to high rates of exploitation. This species is probably affected by hunting and habitat degradation over its entire range, but the impact of these threats in other range countries than Bolivia is unknown due to a lack of field studies.

History:

2006	–	Vulnerable (IUCN 2006)
2006	–	Vulnerable
1996	–	Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This armadillo species is found in Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina. Its distribution is poorly known, as it is often confounded with Chaetophractus vellerosus. In Argentina, it has been recorded in localities farther south than its current range (Carrizo et al. 2005), but these records need to be confirmed to exclude the possibility that they are C. vellerosus.
Countries:	Native: Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán); Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Chile; Peru
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Peredo (1999) estimated a total population of 13,000 individuals in an area of 340 km². The wild populations are decreasing.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This omnivorous species inhabits high altitude grasslands, where it digs its burrows in sandy soils (Redford and Eisenberg 1992, Pérez Zubieta 2008).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is intensively harvested commercially for its meat and carapace, including for charangos (musical instrument) and also handicrafts (Romero-Muñoz and Pérez-Zubieta 2008). Cáceres (1995) estimated 2000 individuals harvested each year in Bolivia. It also suffers habitat loss from sand excavation for concrete production (Peredo 1999) and agricultural activities (Ríos and Rocha 2002).

Major Threat(s):

This species is intensively harvested commercially for its meat and carapace, including for charangos (musical instrument) and also handicrafts (Romero-Muñoz and Pérez-Zubieta 2008). Cáceres (1995) estimated 2000 individuals harvested each year in Bolivia. It also suffers habitat loss from sand excavation for concrete production (Peredo 1999) and agricultural activities (Ríos and Rocha 2002).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It is found in one protected area in Bolivia (Sajama National Park). Further systematic studies for this species are needed, most specifically, to determine if it is a distinct species, or a high-altitude subspecies of Chaetophractus vellerosus (Wetzel 1985, Gardner 2005).

Conservation Actions:

This species is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It is found in one protected area in Bolivia (Sajama National Park). Further systematic studies for this species are needed, most specifically, to determine if it is a distinct species, or a high-altitude subspecies of Chaetophractus vellerosus (Wetzel 1985, Gardner 2005).

Citation:	Superina, M. & Abba, A.M. 2010. Chaetophractus nationi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2013.
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