Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758

VOSS, ROBERT S., LUNDE, DARRIN P. & SIMMONS, NANCY B., 2001, The Mammals Of Paracou, French Guiana: A Neotropical Lowland Rainforest Fauna Part 2. Nonvolant Species, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2001 (263), pp. 1-236 : 65

Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus

VOUCHER MATERIAL: AMNH 266483 , 267012 ; MNHN 1995.953 . Total = 3 specimens .

IDENTIFICATION: Our three vouchers conform in all qualitative external and cranial characters with the descriptions of this species by Husson (1978) and Wetzel and Mondolfi ( 1979). For comparison with Wetzel and Mondolfi’s summary of quantitative data from Dasypus novemcinctus (op. cit.: table 1), the external measurements of our only adult specimen ( AMNH 267012 , female) were 506 Χ 380 Χ 95 Χ 51 mm, and it weighed 4.8 kg. The shell of AMNH 267012 was not preserved, but the other two specimens (both subadults with unfused basicranial sutures and incompletely erupted dentitions) each have nine movable bands, of which the fourth has 57 ( MNHN 1995.953 ) or 60 ( AMNH 266483 ) scutes. The condylonasal length of the skull of AMNH 267012 is 102.4 mm, the zygomatic width 44.8 mm, and the mastoidal width 29.0 mm ; this specimen has seven paired maxillary teeth and eight paired mandibular teeth.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: We heard armadillos crashing through the undergrowth or caught brief glimpses of them as they fled almost every night; most were probably Dasypus novemcinctus (usually the commonest rain­ forest armadillo throughout its extensive geographic range; Emmons, 1990, 1997), but it was impossible to make certain identifications in such cases. Our three vouchers were all shot at night in primary forest, at both well­drained and swampy sites. Numerous unambiguous sightings (many of which were not recorded) indicate that this species is common in all local habitats including primary forest and secondary growth. All of our observations were of solitary individuals. Although most sightings were nocturnal, we occasionally encountered nine­banded armadillos in the late afternoon, usually an hour or less before dusk.