New records on the distribution and habitat of the northern naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous centralis (Mammalia, Cingulata, Chlamyphoridae) in Costa Rica

Abstract

The northern naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous centralis, is a rare and elusive species. It ranges from southern Mexico to northern South America. It has been detected in several types of habitats, but appears to prefer Tropical and Subtropical broadleaf forests. In Costa Rica, this species is difficult to observe and there are only eight records reported in the scientific literature. To search records of this armadillo, we used camera traps in north-western Costa Rica and visited several additional localities in the centre and the Caribbean lowlands of the country. We also examined and assessed records of this species from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database. We added four new locality records for C. centralis in Costa Rica, based on photos from camera traps and field observations. We found only three localities (five records) in GBIF additional to the eight reported in literature. Habitat in these new Costa Rican localities reported here varied from mature dense forest (one site) to semi-urban areas (two sites). Additionally, two individuals were detected in secondary forest patches, one of them adjacent to mature riparian forest. Given the species’ scarcity, much additional information still is required to ground protection actions in a scientific framework.