* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in Crop Top – Yahoo

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in a Chic Crop Top

    Bricktown continues to thrive as OKC’s entertainment district – OKC VeloCity

    Bricktown Shines as Oklahoma City’s Premier Entertainment Hotspot

    This Haunting ‘60s Country Song Is Even More Tragic Than You Remember – Yahoo

    This Haunting ’60s Country Song Will Break Your Heart All Over Again

    Arts/Entertainment: ‘Wait Until Dark’ brings spooky season center stage – Times Herald Online

    Wait Until Dark’ Delivers Chilling Thrills Perfect for the Spooky Season

    Bluesman James Montgomery Will Perform In Falmouth – CapeNews.net

    Blues Legend James Montgomery Ready to Ignite the Stage in Falmouth

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    DLG−Agrifuture Concept Winners 2025 announced – Visionary Ideas in agricultural technology recognized – TheNewsMarket

    Meet the Visionary Innovators Revolutionizing Agricultural Technology in 2025

    Spanning the Gulf: Global Defence Technology 155 – Army Technology

    Spanning the Gulf: Exploring Cutting-Edge Global Defence Technology

    A Nobel Prize for explaining when technology leads to growth – NPR

    Nobel Prize Awarded for Unraveling How Technology Drives Economic Growth

    Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever – The Conversation

    Erie Canal’s 200th Anniversary: How a Trade Marvel Transformed the Environment Forever

    Day 5 of Gains Streak for Solidion Technology Stock with 475% Return (vs. -20% YTD) [10/14/2025] – Trefis

    Solidion Technology Stock Rockets for 5th Consecutive Day, Soaring an Astonishing 475% Year-to-Date

    Tracking DNA and RNA Together To Unlock Disease Insights – Technology Networks

    Unlocking Disease Insights by Tracking DNA and RNA Together

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in Crop Top – Yahoo

    Bella Thorne Shows Off Her Toned Abs in a Chic Crop Top

    Bricktown continues to thrive as OKC’s entertainment district – OKC VeloCity

    Bricktown Shines as Oklahoma City’s Premier Entertainment Hotspot

    This Haunting ‘60s Country Song Is Even More Tragic Than You Remember – Yahoo

    This Haunting ’60s Country Song Will Break Your Heart All Over Again

    Arts/Entertainment: ‘Wait Until Dark’ brings spooky season center stage – Times Herald Online

    Wait Until Dark’ Delivers Chilling Thrills Perfect for the Spooky Season

    Bluesman James Montgomery Will Perform In Falmouth – CapeNews.net

    Blues Legend James Montgomery Ready to Ignite the Stage in Falmouth

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    DLG−Agrifuture Concept Winners 2025 announced – Visionary Ideas in agricultural technology recognized – TheNewsMarket

    Meet the Visionary Innovators Revolutionizing Agricultural Technology in 2025

    Spanning the Gulf: Global Defence Technology 155 – Army Technology

    Spanning the Gulf: Exploring Cutting-Edge Global Defence Technology

    A Nobel Prize for explaining when technology leads to growth – NPR

    Nobel Prize Awarded for Unraveling How Technology Drives Economic Growth

    Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever – The Conversation

    Erie Canal’s 200th Anniversary: How a Trade Marvel Transformed the Environment Forever

    Day 5 of Gains Streak for Solidion Technology Stock with 475% Return (vs. -20% YTD) [10/14/2025] – Trefis

    Solidion Technology Stock Rockets for 5th Consecutive Day, Soaring an Astonishing 475% Year-to-Date

    Tracking DNA and RNA Together To Unlock Disease Insights – Technology Networks

    Unlocking Disease Insights by Tracking DNA and RNA Together

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

A new armadillo species was hiding in plain sight

July 6, 2024
in Science
A new armadillo species was hiding in plain sight
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The newly described Guianan long-nosed armadillo.

The newly described Guianan long-nosed armadillo. Credit: © Quentin Martinez (https://quentinmartinez.fr/)

They’re scaly, covered in armor, and hiding a secret identity. Nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), the idiosyncratic mammal that spans from southern Illinois to northern Argentina, are not actually one species after all. Instead, the group of these unusual animals is made up of four distinct species, according to a study published in June in the journal Systematic Biology. 

Armadillos are part of Xenarthra, the mammalian group native to the Americas that also includes anteaters and sloths. Though armadillos are a classic symbol of the southern U.S.–particularly Texas, where they’ve been a lovable mascot for everything from sports teams to chain restaurants, they’re actually relatively recent arrivals there. The armored animals first established themselves north of the Rio Grande in the late 1800s, after crossing the river of their own accord. Around the same time, the reptile-esque mammals were introduced by humans to Florida. Since then, they’ve continued to spread. In recent years, individual armadillos have been spotted as far north as Illinois and Indiana and as far east as Virginia. Why and how they’re managing to expand so widely remains a mystery, but now we’re learning more about the various species of these peculiar creatures.  

Through genetic and trait analysis, biologists say they’ve uncovered the covert variety hiding under the umbrella of the over-simplified armadillo clade. Previously, there’ve been 21 recognized species of armadillo, and so breaking one lineage into four represents about a 14% increase in ‘dillo diversity. In addition to broadening the armadillo family tree, the new divisions could have significant conservation implications as scientists consider the four species in a new context. 

Two of the newly defined species had been proposed as subspecies in past research. One of the species sticks with the name and description of the classic nine-banded armadillo. The fourth represents a previously undescribed species (the first within armadillos in 30 years). 

The news means that Texas’ state animal is getting re-named: It’s now the Mexican long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus mexicanus), which occupies the most northern part of the former Nine-banded armadillo’s range–from Costa Rica into the U.S. Then there’s Dasypus fenestratus living in the western Andes from Costa Rica through Ecuador, northern Columbia, and northern Venezuela. Only the southernmost part of the former nine-banded range, encompassing most of South America, remains the official home of the nine-banded armadillo. 

Finally there’s the Guianan long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus guianensis). This never-before-described species inhabits the Guinean Shield, a 1.7 billion year old geological formation comprising multiple high-elevation regions underlying Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and part of Venezuela.  

A specimen of the new species, collected in 1961, in the Field Museum’s collections. Credit: Kate Golembiewski, Field Museum

“Each species now has a much more restricted distribution,” says Anderson Feijó, one of the study co-authors and assistant curator of mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. “This finding shifts the way we think about [these animals’] ecological requirements,” he adds. What was previously considered a broadly adaptable and wide-ranging animal, at no risk of losing ground, will now have to be re-considered four times over. It’s possible each species has different habitat needs or resources, and that–in some places–those aren’t being met.

“We’ll now have to reassess each of the four different entities,” Frédéric Delsuc, senior study author and an evolutionary biologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research. Delsuc is also part of the specialist group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in charge of classifying where armadillo species should fall on the IUCN Red List. He is eager to evaluate each of the newly delimited four species, though he’s not immediately concerned about any of them, considering how frequently they’re splattered on roads, he says, indicating they’re probably “quite numerous.”

Though sad for armadillos, the mammals’ tendency to end up beneath the wheels of cars was actually a boon to the researchers. A little over half of their 80 total armadillo samples came from dried samples–mostly museum specimens. But 34 samples were collected fresh in the field, “mostly from roadkill,” says Delsuc. 

Using these armadillo bits taken from across the entire, former nine-banded range, the scientists extracted both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. They conducted multiple analyses to parse out the exact relationships among their 80 study animals. In one type of analysis, they repeatedly grouped the individuals by genetic similarity, and found four clusters popping up over and over again. In another type of analysis, they assessed gene flow between these clusters. Although they found some evidence of hybridization, these instances were rare and only observed at the margins of each group’s range. “All of this supports these four lineages as distinct species,” says Mathilde Barthe, the lead study author who recently completed her PhD in molecular evolution at the University of Montpellier in France. 

It’s unclear how long ago each of the armadillo branches diverged, but the presence of low levels of hybridization indicates it was likely relatively recent, on the scale of evolutionary time, notes Delsuc.

Thorough genetic analysis was critical to discovering and defining the species split because, for the most part, all four species look visually similar to each other. On first glance or in the field, “it’s very hard to tell them apart,” says Feijó. However there are subtle differences in skull shape that make it possible for experts to distinguish skeletal specimens, says Delsuc. And the new Guianan species is most distinct from the others. It’s slightly larger, has a hairless shell, one additional vertebrate, and a domed, thick skull, according to Feijó’s formal description. Additional study could find that the species diverge in other ways, like behavior or diet. 

The new findings were 25 years in the making, and built on past studies of armadillo diversity. However, there are still some limitations. The DNA contained in museum samples is often contaminated and degraded. The scientists took “special care,” to reduce the impact of that potential contamination and filter their data, says Barthe–but some quirks may have fallen through the cracks. Still, none of the researchers expect their proposal to stir much controversy. “The evidence has been piling up, and kind of leading to this final conclusion,” says Feijó. 

There is still so much to learn, even about mammalian biology. “Usually, people assume mammals are a very well known group,” says Feijó. “But the reality is we are just learning.” Today, there’s four newly defined species. Tomorrow, he notes there’s probably even more to come.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Popular Science – https://www.popsci.com/science/new-armadillo/

Tags: ArmadilloscienceSpecies
Previous Post

NEPA warns about crocodiles amid passage of hurricane

Next Post

Borderlands 2 with expansions is now 73 percent off

Iran Extends Internet Clampdown Beyond Wartime – The New York Times

Iran Intensifies Internet Crackdown, Extending Restrictions Well Beyond Wartime

October 17, 2025
US aims to raise $20bn ‘facility’ to support Argentina’s struggling economy – Al Jazeera

US Unveils $20 Billion Aid Package to Revitalize Argentina’s Economy

October 17, 2025
Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

Elmira’s New Entertainment Venue ‘Centertown Social’ Adding its Final Touches – WENY News

October 17, 2025
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) tied to heart problems – Harvard Health

New Study Reveals Surprising Connection Between RSV and Heart Complications

October 17, 2025
Some Wisconsin lawmakers want paychecks withheld during gov­ernment shutdown, others don’t – Spectrum News 1

Some Wisconsin lawmakers want paychecks withheld during gov­ernment shutdown, others don’t – Spectrum News 1

October 17, 2025
Driving in circles – Economy and ecology – ips-journal.eu

Driving in circles – Economy and ecology – ips-journal.eu

October 17, 2025
RFK Jr’s Health Policies Are Helping China Defeat America in Science – The National Interest

How RFK Jr.’s Health Policies Are Shaping the Global Science Race-and Giving China a Leading Advantage

October 17, 2025
VIDEO: Gustafson House serves new role for Forensic Science – University of North Dakota

Watch Gustafson House Evolve into a Cutting-Edge Center for Forensic Science Innovation

October 17, 2025
Customizable Finger Brace Eases Rehab, Arthritis Care – Black Belt News Network

Revolutionary Customizable Finger Brace Transforms Rehab and Arthritis Relief

October 17, 2025
DLG−Agrifuture Concept Winners 2025 announced – Visionary Ideas in agricultural technology recognized – TheNewsMarket

Meet the Visionary Innovators Revolutionizing Agricultural Technology in 2025

October 17, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (872)
  • Economy (894)
  • Entertainment (21,766)
  • General (17,652)
  • Health (9,935)
  • Lifestyle (906)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (894)
  • Politics (904)
  • Science (16,104)
  • Sports (21,393)
  • Technology (15,873)
  • World (877)

Recent News

Iran Extends Internet Clampdown Beyond Wartime – The New York Times

Iran Intensifies Internet Crackdown, Extending Restrictions Well Beyond Wartime

October 17, 2025
US aims to raise $20bn ‘facility’ to support Argentina’s struggling economy – Al Jazeera

US Unveils $20 Billion Aid Package to Revitalize Argentina’s Economy

October 17, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version