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 140 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 chaired by Dr. Mariella Superina, armadillo expert, Research Scientist at the Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo, CCT CONICET in Mendoza, Argentina, and Associate Researcher of Fundación Omacha, Colombia. Dr. Superina is assisted by Dr. Nadia de Moraes-Barros, Deputy Chair of the ASASG. Dr. Moraes-Barros is a sloth expert and works at the Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade de Porto, CIBIO–Inbio, Porto, Portugal. She also acts as an external advisor at the Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva do Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. 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.