Beyond the carapace: skull shape variation and morphological systematics of long-nosed armadillos (genus Dasypus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The systematics of long-nosed armadillos (genus Dasypus) has been mainly based on a handful of external morphological characters and classical measurements. Here, we studied the pattern of morphological variation in the skull of long-nosed armadillos species, with a focus on the systematics of the widely distributed nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).

Methods

We present the first exhaustive 3D comparison of the skull morphology within the genus Dasypus, based on micro-computed tomography. We used geometric morphometric approaches to explore the patterns of the intra- and interspecific morphological variation of the skull with regard to several factors such as taxonomy, geography, allometry, and sexual dimorphism.

Results

We sh

SUBMITTER: Hautier L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5562145 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature