Glyptodons

Name

The name glyptodon comes from the greek for "grooved tooth". While the first fossils of these animals were found by Darwin himself, the name was given by the British paleontolgist Richard Owen. Incidentally Owen is also the person who coined the term dinosaur.

Characteristics

These animals are classified as part of the superorder Xenarthra. This includes modern animals such as anteaters, sloths, and armadillos. The glyptodon most resembles a modern armadillo, albeit armadillos are much smaller than their ancestors. Glyptodons resembled ankylosaurs, which are the class of armored dinosaurs. They originated in South America.

Glyptodons had osteoderms (something like a protective shell or scale like covering of the skin) and it was only in the 2000s that the presence of osteoderms was confirmed on the face, hind legs and the underside. Most fossils of these animals date from the Pleistocene period. The presence of the osteoderm points to its purpose of providing protection to the animal, sort of like an armor.

Extinction

The glyptodon disappeared after the Great American Exchange, the period when the current North American and South American continents fused. It is also believed that humans might have caused the extinction of glyptodons since the osteoderms could have been used by humans as shells for protection against the weather.