Wildfire against the survival of Xenarthra: anteaters, armadillos, and sloths

Abstract

During 2019 and 2020, Amazon and Pantanal wildfires were news all over the world, followed by shocking images of burnt landscapes and animals. Fires within rainforests and wetlands are seldom related to natural causes. Instead, these are human-driven events, often caused by illegal actions associated with deforestation and land conversion to sustain intensive agriculture and farming, among other impacts. The loss of native vegetation, not only causes habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, but also increases the risk of natural fires creating a vicious circle. Among the animals mostly threatened by fire are the xenarthrans. Here, we bring attention to this group of mammals, which have several biological adaptations that make them particularly vulnerable to fire events. We present sloths, armadillos and anteaters as valuable components
of biodiversity, being relicts of a vast diversity of South American endemics, and comprising many endangered, unique and poorly known species. Last, we conclude that 2019/2020 fires in the Amazon forest and Pantanal wetland, added to a multitude of other threats, are seriously menacing regional diversity components of these emblematic mammals.