ARMORED INVADERS IN PATAGONIA: RECENT SOUTHWARD DISPERSION OF ARMADILLOS (CINGULATA, DASYPODIDAE)

AGUSTÍN M. ABBA; SEBASTIÁN POLJAK; MAGALI GABRIELLI; PABLO TETA; ULYSES F. J. PARDIÑAS

MASTOZOOLOGíA NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2014

0327-9383

Patagonia, south of 40º S, is currently inhabited by Chaetophractus villosus and Zaedyus pichiy. In order to reconstruct the Late Pleistocene-Holocene biogeographical history of these armadillos in southern South America, we compiled and discussed data from zooarcheological sites, notes from naturalists and travellers, specimens from museum, and literature. We found that both species experienced significant range expansion southwards. We hypothesized that: (a) Central and Southern Patagonia was mainly free of armadillos during the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene; (b) in the last 10 ky Z. pichiy progressively invaded southern Patagonia from the north, up to the Santa Cruz River (~50º S); at the same time, C. villosus colonized the northern portion of Patagonia north of Chubut River (~44º S); (c) during the last century, Z. pichiy surpassed the Santa Cruz River barrier while C. villosus colonized all of the remaining Patagonian territories to reach the Magellan Strait. Although these armadillos have metabolic, dietary and behavioral adaptations to cold and dry habitats that possibly helped them to extend its range southwards, we propose that the observed distributional changes of the last century were triggered mainly by anthropogenic causes.