Glyptodont

Glyptodonts Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Glyptodon fossil, Natural History Museum, Vienna
Illustration of the skeleton of Doedicurus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cingulata
Family:	Chlamyphoridae
Subfamily:	†Glyptodontinae Burmeister 1879
Genera
†Andinoglyptodon †Asterostemma †Boreostemma †Castellanosia †Clypeotherium †Cranithlastus †Daedicuroides †Doedicurus †Eleutherocercus †Eucinepeltus †Glyptatelus †Glyptodon †Glyptodontidium †Glyptostracon †Glyptotherium †Hoplophorus †Kelenkura †Lomaphorus †Metopotoxus †Neosclerocalyptus †Neuryurus †Palaehoplophorus †Panochthus †Paraeucinepeltus †Parapropalaehoplophorus †Plaxhaplous †Prodaedicurus †Propalaehoplophorus †Protoglyptodon †Pseudoplohophorus †Stromatherium †Xiphuroides

Glyptodonts are an extinct clade of large, heavily armoured armadillos, reaching up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height, and maximum body masses of around 2 tonnes. They had short, deep skulls, a fused vertebral column, and a large bony carapace made up of hundreds of individual scutes. Some glyptodonts had clubbed tails, similar to ankylosaurid dinosaurs.^[1]

The earliest widely recognised fossils of glyptodonts in South America are known from the late Eocene, around 38 million years ago, and they spread to southern North America after the continents became connected around 2.7 million years ago.^[2] The best-known genus within the group is Glyptodon.

Glyptodonts were historically considered to constitute the distinct family Glyptodontidae, with their relationships to modern armadillos being contested. In 2016, an analysis of the

Glyptodonts abruptly became extinct approximately 12,000 years ago at the end of the Late Pleistocene, as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions, along with most other large animals in the Americas. Evidence has been found suggesting that they were hunted by recently arrived Paleoindians, which may have played a role in their extinction.^[3]

Evolution

Glyptodonts first evolved during the

Glyptodonts are divided into two major groups, which split during or prior to the Early Miocene. The first is the traditional Glyptodontinae, which is includes the well known genera of Glyptodon and Glyptotherium, which probably originated in Northern South America, while the second is the unnamed "Austral clade", containing the majority of glyptodont diversity, which as the name suggests probably originated in Southern South America.^[8]

Cladogram after Barasoain et al. 2022:^[8]

Description