3. Greater Long-nosed Armadillo Dasypus kappleri French: Tatou de Kappler / German: KapplerGurteltier / Spanish: Mulita de Kappler Taxonomy. Dasypus kappler: Krauss, 1862, “den Urwaldern des Marowiniflusses in Surinam” (= primeval forests near the Marowijne River, Suriname). Dasypus kappleri has been considered dis- tinct enough to warrant separation in its own subgenus, Hyperoambon; some have argued that this name should be elevated to a genus, but this has not been widely adopted. Others have proposed that the subspecies are distinct enough to be recognized as separate species, but this also has not been generally accepted. Three subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. D.k.kappleriKrauss,1862—restrictedtotheGuianaShield. D.k.beniensisLonnberg,1942—lowlandsofAmazonianBrazilandBolivia,SoftheMadredeDios,Madeira,andlowerAmazonrivers. D. k. pastasae Thomas, 1901 — E Andes Range of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, Venezuela, S of the Orinoco River, and W Amazon Basin in Brazil and NW Bolivia, N of the Rio Madre de Dios. Descriptive notes. Head-body 510-580 mm, tail 330-480 mm, ear 48-55 mm, hindfoot 110-135 mm; weight 8:5-10.5 kg. The Greater Long-nosed Armadillo is the largest species of long-nosed armadillo and distinguished from other dasypodid armadillos by a vestigial externally visible fifth digit on forefoot, lack of well-defined posterior lobe on cephalic shield, and enlarged projecting scales at knee. Normally, 7-8 movable bands are present on carapace. Habitat. Lowland tropical rainforest of Amazon and Orinoco river basins. Food and Feeding. Studies of stomach contents and interviews with indigenous people support the view of the Greater Long-nosed Armadillo as a generalist insectivore. Nevertheless, a recent analysis of the mandible found thatit is much stronger than that predicted for an insectivore and more similar to that of omnivorous taxa. Whether this reflects important differences in the diet of the Greater Long-nosed Armadillo relative to that of other dasypodids is unknown. Breeding. Litters of Greater Long-nosed Armadillos have two young based on several pregnant females that each contained two fetuses. Activity patterns. The Greater Long-nosed Armadillo is nocturnal. Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Greater Long-nosed Armadillo is assumed to be solitary and asocial like other dasypodid armadillos. Large body size leads to the expectation that it would have a larger home range and move more extensively than its smaller congeners, but there have been no studies to confirm this. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Greater Long-nosed Armadillo has a large distribution, but lack of field studies means that there is no real knowledge available on current status of specific populations. Because of its large size and reputedly good tasting meat, the Greater Long-nosed Armadillo is a favored food item in many regions and, as such, is hunted extensively. Whether or not hunting represents a severe negative impact on populations remains unknown. Bibliography. Anacleto, Arteaga et al. (2014), Barreto et al. (1985), Billet et al. (2017), Feij6 & Cordeiro-Estrela (2016), Fleck & Voss (2016), Gibb et al. (2016), Hautier et al. (2017), Serrano-Fochs et al. (2015), Szeplaki et al. (1988), Wetzel & Mondolfi (1979).

Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Dasypodidae, pp. 30-47 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 45, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6631721