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Article

Phylogeography and Past Distribution of Peripheral Individuals of Large Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus

by
Aldo Arriagada
1,2,*,
Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre
3,4,
Norka Fuentes
1,
Cristián Saucedo
5 and
Nelson Colihueque
6
1
Laboratorio de Limnología, Departamento de Acuicultura y Recursos Agroalimentarios, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno 5290000, Chile
2
Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386, Chile
3
Centro i~mar, Universidad de Los Lagos, Puerto Montt 5480000, Chile
4
Núcleo Milenio INVASAL, Concepción 4070386, Chile
5
Fundación Rewilding Chile, Puerto Varas 5550000, Chile
6
Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno 5290000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diversity 2025, 17(6), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060390 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 December 2024 / Revised: 1 May 2025 / Accepted: 9 May 2025 / Published: 30 May 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation of Armadillos)

Abstract

The fossil and molecular evidence suggests that the area of origin of the Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus was the central Pampas region of Argentina, with a current distribution that includes Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile. We studied the evolutionary history of peripheral individuals of C. villosus using phylogeographic approaches and potential distribution models for the Holocene. We sequenced a segment of the mitochondrial DNA control region in 22 individuals with a peripheral distribution that inhabit the western limit of its current distribution in Chile, which was compared with Argentine sequences of the central distribution. The results show that the peripheral individuals studied have less genetic polymorphism than populations in the central distribution. All Chilean sequences were grouped in the haplotype C, which is dominant in Patagonian populations of Argentina. The potential distribution model predicts that during the Holocene the areas in which the peripheral populations of Chilean C. villosus are currently distributed presented medium–high habitability conditions for the species. Our results are consistent with the center–periphery model, showing a decrease in genetic diversity in peripheral areas of the distribution of C. villosus. It is probable that the low genetic diversity of the peripheral population is related to recent population establishment by dispersion from adjacent Argentine Patagonian populations. Peripheral populations such as those studied can have small population sizes; however, they can remain stable and have high survival rates during climatic oscillations, acting as important relics for the conservation and evolutionary potential of the species.
Keywords: armadillos; Patagonia; peripheral distribution; genetic polymorphism; potential distribution model armadillos; Patagonia; peripheral distribution; genetic polymorphism; potential distribution model

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MDPI and ACS Style

Arriagada, A.; Canales-Aguirre, C.B.; Fuentes, N.; Saucedo, C.; Colihueque, N. Phylogeography and Past Distribution of Peripheral Individuals of Large Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus. Diversity 2025, 17, 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060390

AMA Style

Arriagada A, Canales-Aguirre CB, Fuentes N, Saucedo C, Colihueque N. Phylogeography and Past Distribution of Peripheral Individuals of Large Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus. Diversity. 2025; 17(6):390. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060390

Chicago/Turabian Style

Arriagada, Aldo, Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre, Norka Fuentes, Cristián Saucedo, and Nelson Colihueque. 2025. "Phylogeography and Past Distribution of Peripheral Individuals of Large Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus" Diversity 17, no. 6: 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060390

APA Style

Arriagada, A., Canales-Aguirre, C. B., Fuentes, N., Saucedo, C., & Colihueque, N. (2025). Phylogeography and Past Distribution of Peripheral Individuals of Large Hairy Armadillo Chaetophractus villosus. Diversity, 17(6), 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060390

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