Sunday, February 25, 2007

Threatened and Endangered Species: Episode 1

(Photo Source: http://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/priodontes.html)

Welcome back to Threatened and Endangered Species, I'm your guide Rip Pitman. Here in northern Argentina, we once again find a species that has found itself backed into a corner. Priodontes maximus, or the Giant Armadillo, once saw its habitat spread over many geographic regions. Now the Giant Armadillo is seen as rare even in its habitat, which includes Brazil, Guyauna, Columbia, Peru, and a few other countries in South America. But due to the pressure of extensive hunting in its original range, Priodontes maximus is now confined to very small sections of its tropical terrestrial range, and its in even smaller numbers. As you can see, this rare Giant Armadillo is often found in areas close to the water. It seems to prefer unpopulated forest areas, but has also been found in grasslands.

Despite its larger size, the Giant Armadillo is still a vertebrate animal, and contrary to its scaly appearance, the armadillo is in fact a mammal and not a reptile. The armadillo gives birth to live young. It is a member of the kingdom kingdom Animalia and domain Eukarya.

Priodontes maximus is known to eat primarily termites, ants, and other small insects. It is often found habituating areas of large termite burros, as termites seem to be its meal of choice. Though he doesn't look as though he would have that great of balance, the Giant Armadillo can actual raise himself on his back legs and balance with his tail in order to reach higher areas where he can ingest more termites.

As I noted earlier, hunters have caused extensive problems for this gentle giant. But hunters should not be the only ones interested in the Giant Armadillo. Bioprospectors could also find value. Bioprospectors make it their life's goal to find new and interesting uses for organisms, and it may pay to look again at the Giant Armadillo. This fact that Giant Armadillos are so suited for a specialized diet of termites could lead to something more. There could be some fluid or enzyme in the Giant Armadillo's saliva or stomach that allows for easy and conveniant digestion of termites. This could be researched in hopes of discovering a possible termite repellent.Sadly, the

Giant Armadillos may have another enemy just as dangerous as the hunters that have been decreasing its population. Due to its habitat consisting largely of areas very close to water, Priodontes maximus may have a fight on its hands because of global warming. Global warming is the raising of the earth's average temperature due to heat rapped in our atmosphere by large collections of carbon dioxide. Effects of global warming will no doubt effect the earth's water supply. The increasing rain storms could cause an increase in the water level, thus necessitating the Giant Armadillo's move to a different environment, possibly one not as rich in termite populations.

Even without the effects of global warming, the Giant Armadillo is considered endangered. Due to the extensive hunting by humans, the Giant Armadillos' numbers have slipped along side the habitat infringement. Many people believe that Priodontes maximus eats crops, but they actually only damage them when they are digging for termites.

Resources:

Cuellar, E., Meritt, D., Porini, G. & members of the Edentate Specialist Group 2006. Priodontes maximus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 25 February 2007.

Joshua Nixon. September 14, 2006. Genus Priodontes. http://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/priodontes.html. Dowloaded on 25 February 2007.

David Armitage. Animal Diversity Web: Priodontes maximus. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Priodontes_maximus.html. Dowloaded on 25 February 2007.