Puneet Varma (Editor)

Glyptotherium

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Kingdom
  
Superorder
  
Xenarthra

Subfamily
  
†Glyptodontinae

Rank
  
Genus

Class
  
Family
  
Phylum
  
Chordata

Order
  
Glyptotherium Glyptotherium Wikipedia la enciclopedia libre

Similar
  
Glyptodont, Holmesina, Pampatheriidae, Panochthus, Cingulata

Glyptotherium is an extinct genus of glyptodont, a group of extinct mammals related to the armadillo living from 4.1 to 1.5 million years ago (AEO). The genus is considered an example of North American megafauna, of which most have become extinct. Glyptotherium may have been wiped out by climate change or human interference.[1]

Glyptotherium Glyptotherium spp

Like its living relative, the armadillo, Glyptotherium had a shell which covered its entire body, similar to a turtle. However, unlike a turtle's shell, the Glyptotherium shell was made up of hundreds of small six-sided scales. Some species grew up to six feet long and its armor weighed up to a ton.

Glyptotherium Claw of Glyptodon Glyptotherium sp 45 mm Catawiki

Remains of Glyptotherium species have been found in tropical and subtropical regions of Venezuela, Central America, Mexico, and the southern United States from Florida and South Carolina to Arizona. There is no direct evidence of humans preying on the North American glyptodont. Smilodon may have occasionally preyed upon Glyptotherium, based on a skull from one Glyptotherium fossil recovered from Pleistocene deposits in Arizona bearing the distinctive elliptical puncture marks that best match those of the machairodont cat, indicating that the predator successfully risked biting into bone to kill the armored herbivore, the only option for a predator intent on hunting such heavily armored animals. The Glyptotherium in question was a juvenile, with a still-developing head shield, making it far more vulnerable to the cat's attack. Glyptotherium was named by Osborn in 1903, assigned to Glyptodontinae by Downing and White in 1995 and to Glyptodontidae by Osborn (1903), Brown (1912), Carroll (1988), Cisneros (2005) and Mead et al. (2007).

Glyptotherium httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu
Glyptotherium Arizona Geology Online

Glyptotherium Arizona Geology Online

References

Glyptotherium Wikipedia