Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758

Fonda, Federica, Vezzani, Liam, Mena Aguilar, Luis Ángel, Venegas-Elizondo, Carlos Andrés, Bolaños Brenes, Alexander, Lopez, Dayron Manuel, Romeo, Giuseppe, Sonetti, Dario & Dal Zotto, Matteo, 2025, Mammal diversity and tourism influence in an under-investigated region of Costa Rica, ZooKeys 1260, pp. 37-74 : 37-74

Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758

Fig. 2 A Nine-banded armadillo

Material examined.

Costa Rica • Puntarenas Province, Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge ; 09°52'20"N, 085°02'25"W; 295 m alt.; 10.02.2018; direct observation .

Identification.

Medium-sized armadillo. Characterised by an armoured body with 8 or 9 scutes. Distinguished from the other species of armadillo that occurs in Costa Rica, i. e., the northern armadillo Cabassous centralis Miller, 1899 , by its close narrow ears, the long snout, an armoured tail and a noticeably arched carapace ( Wainwright 2007; Pommer-Barbosa et al. 2023). Recorded in the Wildlife Refuge in various habitat types in all seasons. A very recent study based on both morphological and molecular data split D. novemcinctus into 4 distinct species. Following these results Costa Rican populations can be considered as belonging to two of these: D. fenestratus Peters, 1864 and D. mexicanus Peters, 1864 ( Barthe et al. 2025).

Figures

Figure 2. Mammals directly observed at the Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge. A. Dasypus novemcinctus; B. Dicotyles tajacu; C. Cebus imitator; D. Alouatta palliata; E. Nasua narica; F. Dasyprocta punctata. Photographs by M. Dal Zotto.