4. Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo Dasypus septemcinctus French: Tatou a sept bandes / German: Siebenbinden-Gurteltier / Spanish: Mulita chica Other common names: Seven-banded Armadillo, Yellow Armadillo Taxonomy. Dasypus septemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758, “in Indiis.” Corrected byJ. C. P. Erxleben in 1777 to “Brasilia.” Restricted by A. Cabrera in 1958 to Pernambuco, Brazil. Classification of specimens has been hampered at times because D. septemcinctus occurs in areas where other, similar-looking species are found, namely D. hybridus, D. mazai, and juvenile D. novemcinctus. Monotypic. Distribution. From lower Amazon Basin S to Rio Grande do Sul State in Brazil and W to the Gran Chaco of E Bolivia, and Paraguay. Presence in N Argentina considered uncertain at this time due to potential misidentification of specimens. Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.240-310 mm, tail 120-170 mm, ear 26-38 mm, hindfoot 45-75 mm; weight c.1.1-5 kg. The Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo is somewhat smaller but otherwise very similar in appearance to the Northern Long-nosed Armadillo (D. sabanicola), the Southern Long-nosed Armadillo (D. hybridus), and the Yungas Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo (D. mazzai). It is sometimes called the “Sevenbanded Armadillo” because that is the most common number of movable bands on carapace. Chromosomal complementis 2n = 64, FN = 76. Habitat. Grasslands and savannas. The Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo can also be found in gallery forests and secondary habitat that has been disturbed by humans. Food and Feeding. Two fecal samples from Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillos contained insects, seeds, other plant material, and soil. Although more extensive data are lacking, this is assumed to represent a general characterization of the diet. Breeding. Adult females collected from the Cerrado biome of central Brazil were in reproductive condition in June and November. This might indicate that the Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo breeds more than once a year, but this remains speculative; it is also unclear if individual females can breed more than once a year orjust that some females reproduce at one time of the year and other females at another. Regardless, females delay implantation after mating for c.2—4 months, followed by gestation of c.6 months. Litters at birth have 4-8 young. Activity patterns. The Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo is presumed to be nocturnal; it is unknown if activity patterns vary seasonally. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Density of a population of the Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo in central Brazil was 0-3 ind/ha, which suggested individuals were relatively uncommon and widely scattered. Presumably, the Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo,like all other long-nosed armadillos, is relatively asocial and solitary. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Brazilian Lesser Long-nosed Armadillo has a large distribution and is presumably abundant. Nevertheless, no data exist on current population trends that might lead to reevaluation of this classification. Current threats are primarily hunting by humans and habitat degradation. Bibliography. Anacleto, Smith et al. (2014), Cabrera (1958), Erxleben (1777), Ptak et al. (2013), da Silva & Henriques (2009), Vaz et al. (2012), Wetzel & Mondolfi (1979), Wetzel et al. (2008).

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 46, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6631721