Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

31,

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHK

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

NOTES. ON THE NAKED-TAILED ARMADILLOS

.*

BY GERRIT

S.

MILLER,

^JR.

The _following

notes

on

the

naked-tailed armadillos

are

the

resultof

an _attempt

to

name some _{specimens belonging}

to

the United

States

National Museum, ^the Academy

^of

^Natural

^Sci

ences

of

Philadelphia, the American Museum

^of

Natural His

tory,

and Mr. Outram _Bangs. The

_subject

_naturally

divides itselfintofour sections: 1,

History

^of

the

_generic

and _subgeneric names

; 2,

The _genus Tatoua and

its

subgenera

; 3.

The naked-

tailed

armadillo

ofCentral

America, and

_4,

Comparison

^{of three}

small

species of Tatoua.

1. HISTORY OF

THE GENERIC AND

SUBGENERIC NAMES.

Wagler, in 1830, wasthe firstauthortorecognize the naked-tailed ar madillosasadistinctgenus.

He

calledthe group

Xmurws, unaware

that, four yearsearlier, this

name had

been used

by

^BoieinOrnithology.

The

largespeciesthen recently described^as Dasypus gymnurus

by Wied,

^but previously

named

Dasypus ^umclnctus by Linnaeus, served as the type^of his

new

_genus.

Gray,ⁱⁿ¹⁸⁶⁵

and

_1869,divided Wagler'^s genus ^into

two

_subgenera, thefirstcontainingthelarge species

known

to Wagler, ^the second the smallDasypushispidusdescribed

by

^{Burmeisterin 1854.}

To

the second,

which

he_expresslystatesthathe

had

neverseen,hetransferredthe

name

Xenurusinarestricted sense, whiletothefirst he_applied a

new _name,

Tatoua. Tatoua, thus exactly equivalent ^toWagler's

Xenums,

^{is there}

forethe firsttenable generic

name

forthe naked-tailed armadillos.

In 1873

Gray

again appliedthe

name

Xtnurustothe largespecies,

mak-

*Published by permission^ofthe Secretary^oftheSmithsonianInstitution.

I BIOL. Soc. WASH., ^Vol.. XIII, ^18'.)9 (1)

ing no ^referenceto his previous subdivisions,

and

describing the small

hitfjudtiiiasa

new

_species,'A".latifOftfis.'

Another

small armadillo, which he regarded^asthe representativeofa

new

_genus,^hedescribedunder the

name

Zip)iil<t ln</til>riH.

Not

until1S91 wasthefactrecognized that the

name

Xenurusisunten able fora

mammal. Then Ameghino

pointedout the long-standingerror, but overlooking Gray's Tatoua,proposed ^asa substituteforXenurusthe

new name

_Lysinrn.n.

In this course

Ameghino

^{has recentlybeen followed}

by

Trouessart,

who

refersthe naked-tailed armadillosasawholetoLysiurus,

and

places under ^it as a subgenus Gray's Zi/>ltll,notwithstanding ^{that the latter}

was named

eighteen years^earlier.

The

little

known

Zlpi^ilialayubrishasbeen asource of continualuncer tainty,though ^sinceGray,

most

writers,Trouessart excepted,have agreed in regarding ^{it as} very doubtfully ^distinct from 'Xenurus'_hispidus,

an

animal

much

better representedin collections. It_is,however,ⁱⁿ¹¹⁰

way

closelyrelatedtoTatoua_hispida,butadistinct species,therepresentative of a well-marked subgenus, ^for which,^of course,the

name

_Ziphila is available.

2.

THE GENUS TATOUA AND

ITS SUBGENERA.

Genus TATOUA

_Gray.

1830. Xenurus Wagler, Natiirl. Syst.der

Amphibien,

^mitvorang.^Classif.

der_Saugeth.

und

_Vogel,p. 36.

Type

Dasypusgymnunis

Wied

D. unicinctusLinnaeus. (Not XenurusBoie,1826.)

1865. Xenurus Gray, ^{Proc.Zool. Soc.} London, p. 377.

1865. TatouaGray, ^{Proc. Zool. Soc.}

London,

p. 378.

1869. Xenurus Gray,^Catal. Carnivorous,

Pachydermatous and

^Edentate

Mammalia

intheBritish

Museum,

p. 383.

1869. Tatoua Gray,^Catal. Carnivorous,

Pachydermatous and

^Edentate

Mammalia

inthe British

Museum,

p.384.

Type

Dasypus^unicinc tusLinnaeus.

1873. Xenurus Gray, Hand-List^ofthe_Edentate, Thick-Skhme'd

and

Bu-

minant Mammals

intheBritish

Museum,

p.^21.

1891. Lysiurus

Ameghino,

Revista Argentina de^Hist. Natural, I,p. 254.

Type

Dasypus^{unicinctusLinnaeus.}

1898. Lysiurus Trouessart, ^Catal.

Mamm.

tarn vivent.

quam

foss., p.

1146.

Typespecies. Tatouaunicincta(Linnaeus).

g g g g

Characters. Teeth

gHg =

32to

g^ ⁼

^36, subcylindrical in form, the lastabout _oppositemiddle of zygomatic arch

and some

distance inad vanceof posteriorborder_{of palate;} tail long,covered with minute,^thin widely spacedplates; claws

on

frontfeetverygreatly developed.

Submenus TATOUA

Gray.

1865. TalmiuGray,^{Proc. Zool. Soc.}

London,

p. 378.

18(59. Tdlonu, Gray, ^Catal. Carnivorous,

Pachydermatous and

^Edentate

Mammalia

intheBritish

Museum,

p. 384.

1873. Xenurus Gray, Hand-Listof the Edentate, Thick-Skinned

and Ru minant Mammals

inthe British

Museum,

p. 21.

1898. Lysiurus Trouessart, ^Catal.

Mamm.

tarn vivent.

quam

foss.,

p

1146.

Typespecies. Taiouaunicincta(Linnaeus).

Subgeneric characters.

Grown armor

_consisting of 50 to 60 small, roundish, irregularly arranged plates; ears rounded, funnel-formed, densely^coated with

minute

scales

on

outer side; cheeks covered with thin_platesarranged in distinctrows.

Subgenus ZIPHILA

_Gray.

1873. ZiphilaGray, Hand-List^{of the}Edentate, Thick-Skinned

and Rumi

nant

Mammals

inthe British

Museum,

p. 22.

Type

Z. lugubris Gray.

1898. ZiphilaTrouessart, Catal.

Mamm.

tarnvivent.

quam

foss., p. 1148.

Typespecies. Tatoua _lugubris(Gray).

Subgenericcharacters.

Crown armor

consisting of 30^to40symmetrically arranged,mostly pentagonal^orhexagonalplates;ears pointed,notfunnel^- formed, the ^{outer side} bare except along margin; cheeks

w

^rith a few widely spaced, irregularly scattered^scales.

3.

THE NAKED-TAILED ARMADILLO

OF

CENTRAL

AMERICA.

Dr. A.

von

Frantziuspublished ^{thefirst record of}the occurrence of a naked-tailed armadilloinCentral

America

in 1869.

He was

uncertainas to theidentificationoftheanimal the^'armadillode_zopilote^'ofthe Costa Ricans, ^{so called}on accountof the disagreeable buzzard-likeodorof its flesh ashe

saw

_onlya living individual

and

a skull. Both, however, indicatedananimal smallerthanthe I)asypus gymuurus^of Illiger

(=

^D.

unicinctus Linnaeus), ^to

which

he with hesitation referred the _species.

Doubt was

cast on this record

by

^Alstonin 1880,

who

found

no

naked- tailedarmadillos

among

^thecollectionsthatservedforthe elaboration of the

mammals

ofthe Biologia Centrali-Americana.

In 1895Mr. Frederick"W.True recorded asmall Tatouafrom Chameli- con, Honduras,^thefirstpositively

known

tohave been takeninCentral America. In the absence of material for comparison, he regarded the animalas"

presumably^theX[enurus] hispidusofBurmeister."

Two

_years laterMr. A. Alfaro

and

Dr. J. A. Allen confirmed Dr.

von

Frantzius' Costa Ricanobservations

by

recording the capture ofa_speci

men

at Suerre,CostaRica. This animal is referred to ^'Xennrus gym- nurns' ₍ Tatoua unicincta} without

comments

on the doubts expressed

by

^Dr.

von

Frantzius, or on Mr. True's identification of the

Honduras

specimen.

SofarasI

know,

^this completes ^the published history ofthenaked- tailed armadilloinCentralAmerica. I

may

add,however,^thatMr.Jose"

C.Zeledon has_recentlyinformed

me

that the armadillode_zopiloteiswell

known

inCosta_Rica,

where

the worthlessness ofitsfleshforfoodisevery,

where

recognized.

Ihave _recently

compared

^the

two

Central

American

specimens with

one

from Santa Marta, Colombia,

and two

from

Matto

_Grosso, Brazil.

The

latterprove^tobe representatives of the submenus Tatoua, whileall ofthe others are referableto Ziphila.

The

Costa Rican

and Honduras

specimensare precisely alike^inallimportant characters, but they^differ in

many

^{detailsfromthe}

^Colombian

animal,

which

in all probability^is the

same

asGray'sZipldla lagubris.

While

thefactthatGray's type

came

fromBrazil throws

some

doubt on thisdeterminationof thespecimen from Colombia,^itdoesnotlessentheprobability that theCentral

Ameri

can _Ziphila is distinct

from

the one hitherto described.

The

Central

American

animal

may

^standas:

Tatoua

_(Ziphila)centralis _sp. nov.

1869.Dasypus gymnurusFrantzius,

Wiegmann's

^{Archiv fur} Naturgeschichte,

XXXV,

Bd. _{I,p.309 (not}Dasypus gymnurusIlliger, 1815).

1895. Xenurus_hispidusTrue, Proc.

U. S. National

Museum, XVIII,

p. 435 (not Dasy pus hispidus Burmeister, 1854).

1897. Xenurus gymnurus Alfaro,

Mammiferos de Costa

Rica,p. 46.

1897. Xenurus gymnurus Allen, Bull.

Am.

Mus.Nat.Hist., IX, p. 43.

Type, adult

9

(skin

and

skull),

N

^-

_Mill

:,UnitedStatesNational

Museum,

^collectedatChamelicon, Honduras, January 8, 1891,

by

ErichWittkiigel.

Generalcharacters. Smallerthan Tatoua (ZiphUa) lugubris (Gray);

cheeks with fewer scales; plates incentral _ringsof carapace

more numerous

_(29-31, instead of_27); occipitalregion of^skull

much

lesselevated_;

zygomata when

viewed from above nearly parallel with each other

and

with

main

axis of skull;

hamular

processes ofptrygoids neitherthickened nor bentinwardat_tips.

FIG. 1. Head from side: upper figure, Tatoua (Tatoua) hispida; lower _figure, T.

(Ziphila)^centralis(type).

%

^nat.size.

4.

COMPARISON

OF TIIRP:E

SMALL

SPECIES OF TATOUA.

Tatoua

(Tatoua) hispida(Burmeister).

1854. Dasypus hispidus Burmeister, Syst. Uebers. der Thiere Brasiliens, 1stTheil (Mammalia),p. 287 (LagoaSanta,Brazil).

1873. XenuruslatirostrisGray, Hand-List^ofthe Edentate,Thick-Skinned,

and Ruminant

Animalsinthe British

Museum,

p. 22 _(St. Cath erines, Brazil).

Crown

shieldsabout55_(50-60),veryirregularbothinform

and

_arrange ment, ^their'sides

and

angles rounded,'

none

regularly pentagonal ^or hexagonal, those^atfront of shield gradually ^di minishing ^{in size}

and

distinctness.

Cheeks

coveredwiththinscales, closely set in distinct rows.

Ears rounded

above, the lower lobe greatly developed, the resulting form of the conch roughly ^funnel- shaped, with a'distinct notch in the periphery in frontbelow,

and

an otherbehindabove.

A

long,low_ridgeon inner sideofconch above

and

infrontofmeatus. In ternal surface of ear naked.'External surface

densely

^coated

with

roundish scales^about1

mm.

indiameter.

Rough

periphery ^of platesof

body

^armature

very

conspicuous, the

smoother

central

por

tion generally irregular

and much

_pitted. Scapular shield consisting ofsevenor eight rows,the longest of

which

containsabout28_plates.

On

neck infrontof scapular shieldare three rows (the longest containingabout _{8 plates)} of rectan gular, closely appressed plates, the anterior rows regularly imbricating over the _posterior. Dorsal rings 9, the longest containing 25 plates.

Pelvic shield containing ⁹ rows, the longest with about 25 _plates; the FIG. 2.-Head from above: upper figure, Tatoua (Tatoua) hispida; lower _figure, T. (Ziphila) ^centralis (type).

%

^nat.size.

furrowshot

ween

the_plateswide

and

_irregular.

The

majority of the plates of the dorsal armatureareprovided with from one ^to four conspicuous, grayish, bristle-like hairs, which springfrom the posterior borders

and

mostly from the corners of the plates;

when

^from the posterior edge,

away

^fromthecorners,eachhairstandsinadistinctexcavationor_scallop.

Thesebristlesaremost conspicuous on^{thesidesof the}body,

where

_they are often15

mm.

inlength.

Tail aboutone-half as long as

body

armature,^{the scales} arranged ⁱⁿ about10rows

; longestscales(near base of tail) oval,about 4

mm.

_long

and

halfasbroad_;

most

ofthe scales ondorsal surface oftail with1-3 shortbristlesspringingfromposterior edge.

Skinof_bellywithtransverse rowsof well-developed scales,the rows about7

mm.

_apart; eachscalewithatuftof4-6appressed^bristlesspring ing from itsposterior edge, the^scalesthemselves averaging about²

mm.

by

³

mm.

in size. Outer sideoffeet

and

_legscovered with large scales (thelargest 7

mm. _by

9mm.), from the posterioredges^of

which

_spring conspicuous^{tuftsofbristles.}

Skull triangularin profile,the faciallinelittle

broken by

supraorbital swellings or postorbital depression.

Zygomata

greatly

expanded and

thickened atmiddle.

Tatoua

_{(Ziphila) lugubris(Gray).}

1873. Ziphila lugubris Gray, Hand-List^of the Edentate, Thick-Skinned,

and Ruminant Mammals

intheBritish

Museum,

p.23 _(St.

Cath

erines,'Brazil).

Crown

^shieldsabout33_(30-35),regularⁱⁿform

and

bilaterally

symmet

rical in arrangement, their angles ^distinct

and

sides (usually ⁵ or 6) straight,thoseatfrontof shield_large

and

_equaltothe othersin definite- ness of form.

Each

cheek with about20 small, irregularly scattered^scales.

Ears pointedabove, thelower_{lobe veryslightly}developed, the resulting form ofconch not at all funnel-shaped.

A

short high ridge

on

inner side ofconch above

and

in front of meatus. Internal surface ofear naked. External surface of ear

naked

_exceptfor a

row

ofscales, each about 1

mm.

in diameter,along^{entireexternal} border_{of conch,}

and

a secondary

row

⁷

mm.

in length extending

downward

from _slightlyde veloped notch between upper

and

lowerlobes.

Rough

periphery^of platesof

body

^armatureinconspicuous, the

smooth

central portion generally^flat

and

polished. Scapularshield consisting of

7 or8rows, the longest of

which

contains about 28_plates.

On

neck in front of scapular shield are

two

or three rows _{(the longest containing} about_{8 plates)} of irregularlylenticular,widely spaced plates, the rows notimbricating. Dorsal rings^10, the longest consisting of 26-27plates.

Pelvic shieldcontaining 10 rows, the longestwith about 25 _plates; the furrowsbetween theplates

narrow and

regularin outline.

The

_majority

ofthe _platesofthedorsalarmatureareprovided with one^or

two

small, veryinconspicuous^bristlesgrowing fromthe extremities of the posterior

borders. These bristles,the longest of

which

are less than 10

mm.

in length, are

more

readily detected

by

^{touch than}

by

sight.

Tail considerably

more

thanhalf as long^as

body

armature, thescales arrangedⁱⁿ about 14 rows; longest scales(near base of tail)roundish, about3

mm.

indiameter;

most

ofthescales

on

dorsal_surface, with one (nevermore) ^bristlespringingfromposterior edge.

Skin_{of belly}withtransverserows_{of poorly} developedscales, therows about7

mm.

_apart; eachscalewithatuftof 3-5appressed^bristles; the largestofthescales slightlysmaller

and

lessdefinite inform thanthose ofT. hispida; the smaller reduced to

mere

elevations in the _skin,sur

mounted by

^{thetuftofbristles. Outerside offeet}

and

_legscovered with scales, the_largestof

which

arenot

more

than5

mm. _by

7

mm.

in

diam

eter.

Skull triangular in profile, the facial line distinctly broken

by

^the prominentsupraorbitalswellings.

Rostrum

_noticeably

more

slenderthan inT. hispida;

zygomata much more

lightly builtthanin T. hispida, loeut outwardsoasform almost an_angleatmiddle. Palate

behind

tooth

row

narrower thaninT.hispida

and

abruptly raised ^toa_slightlyhigherplane.

Hamulars

thickened

and

_stronglybent

inward

at_tips.

Tatoua

_(Ziphila) centralisMiller.

1899. Tatoua _(Ziphila) centralis Miller, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XIII, p.^4.

Crown

^shieldsabout38_(37-39),otherwiseas in T.lugubris.

Each

cheek withlessthanadozensmall, irregularly scattered ^scales. Ears asin T.

lugubris, except ^{that scales} along border ^of conch areless conspicuous

and

_secondary

row on

backof earislacking.

Generalcharacter ofplatesof

body

^armatureas in Z. lugubris. Scapular shield consisting ofsevenor eight rows, the longest of

which

contains about 28 _plates.

Neck

shields as inT. lugubris. Dorsal rings 10, the longest containing 29-31plates. Pelvic shieldas in T.lugubris. Bristles, tail,

and

scales

on

_belly

and

_{legs as}in T. lugubris.

Skull _slightly larger than in T. lugubris; rostrum _{distinctlylonger.}

Hamulars

neitherthickened nor bent

inward

at _tip.

Zygomata much

lessstrongly bent

outward

thaninT.lugubris, sothat,

when

viewed from above,theyare nearlyparallel.

CranialMeasurements_ofThree_{Species of}Tatoua.