DNA DNA testing of two
D. bellus fossils and modern
armadillos has proved the species are not genetically the same. However, one of the
D. bellus fossils proved to be a specimen of
D. novemcinctus. The mistake was due to the high morphological similarities between the two species. It also proved that
D. novemcinctus was in Florida much earlier than previously thought.
Modern descendants The beautiful armadillo likely shares a common lineage with numerous species of large armadillos from the Pleistocene of South America. This includes
Propraopus sulcatus and
Propraopus grandis. D. kappleri, the great long-nosed armadillo, which is the largest living species of
Dasypus from tropical South America, has the same features of osteoderms as
D. bellus. They also share a large, unreduced fifth digit on the manus. The range of
D. novemcinctus, the smaller nine-banded armadillo, has expanded out of Mexico and into much of the former range of
Dasypus bellus. The two species are morphologically similar to each other. This had led many to believe that they might be a single, highly adaptable species that has gone through a course of phenotypical changes along with geographical range fluctuations causing from environmental changes. However, as previously stated, DNA research has proved
D. bellus and
D. novemcinctus to be separate species. == References ==