First records of Brazilian three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus, Mammalia, Cingulata, Chlamyphoridae) predation by jaguar (Panthera onca, Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae)

Abstract

The jaguar Panthera onca and the Brazilian three-banded armadillo Tolypeutes tricinctus are two threatened mammals that coexist in the Caatinga dry forests and the Cerrado savannas of Brazil. Yet, to the best of our knowledge, interactions between these species have not been reported in the literature. Here, we present the first records of P. onca predation on T. tricinctus from two different areas in the Caatinga in northeastern Brazil. We showed that P. onca can pierce the hard carapace of T. tricinctus, which may be possible due to its distinctly strong bite and associated predation behavior. We argue that P. onca may be the most adapted non-human predator to feed on T. tricinctus, and that the smaller body sizes of P. onca individuals in the Caatinga may increase their likelihood to feed on smaller prey, including T. tricinctus. Thus, the originality of our records is probably more related to insufficient research in the areas where these species coexist than to the rarity of this interaction.

Defining priority areas for conservation of poorly known species: A case study of the endemic Brazilian three-banded armadillo

“…Prior to this study recent records of the Brazilian three-banded armadillo were limited to only eleven localities (Attias et al, 2016;Campos et al, 2019;Feijó et al, 2015;Magalhães et al, 2021;Santos et al, 2019). In contrast, local extinctions have been widely reported across its distribution (Feijó et al, 2015;Neto and Alves, 2016;Oliveira, 1995;Santos et al, 1994).…”

“…Since then, incidental reports revealed the existence of eleven remaining populations (e.g. Bocchiglieri et al, 2010;Feijó et al, 2015;Magalhães et al, 2021;Marinho-Filho et al, 1997;Santos et al, 1994). Currently, the species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List (Miranda et al, 2014) and as Endangered by the Brazilian list of threatened fauna (Reis et al, 2015).…”

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“…Aunque se ha sugerido que P. concolor no tendría la capacidad de perforar corazas (Magalhães et al, 2021), el ancho del hocico y la robustez de sus caninos presentan similitudes con los de algunos panterinos (Werdelin, 1983;Meachen-Samuels & van Valkenburgh, 2009). Además, debe tenerse en cuenta que las mordeduras observadas se produjeron en las paredes laterales de la coraza, y no en el dorso convexo.…”