ABOUT US

The IUCN SSC Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group (ASASG, formerly Edentate Specialist Group) is a network of mammalogists and conservationists who work to understand and protect sloths, anteaters and armadillos.

The ASASG is one of over 180 Specialist Groups organized within the framework of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, an international alliance of conservationists that produces the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and a sweeping range of other conservation initiatives. As an SSC Specialist Group, the ASASG´s primary responsibility is to evaluate the conservation status of all xenarthran species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, working with current information from experts in the field.

The ASASG works on behalf of xenarthrans by supporting field research, conservation measures and educational programs in their range countries. In addition, the ASASG provides technical support to rehabilitation centers and zoological institutions that care about, and care for, xenarthrans.

The ASASG is co-chaired by Dr. Flávia Miranda, anteater expert, director and founder of Instituto Tamanduá in Brazil, and Monique Pool, sloth expert, director and founder of Green Heritage Fund in Suriname. They are assisted by Dr. Mariella Superina, Emeritus Chair of the ASASG. Dr. Superina is an armadillo expert and Research Scientist at Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo, CONICET and Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. Dr. Agustín M. Abba, armadillo expert and Research Scientist at the Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores, CONICET and Universidad Nacional de La Plata in La Plata, Argentina, serves as the ASASG´s Red List Authority.