The Glyptodon Armadillos are a common sight in the southern United States…. except that most
The GlyptodonArmadillos are a common sight in the southern United States…. except that most of the time they are dead and on the side of the road. After living in Texas most of my life, I saw my first LIVE armadillo recently and it seems like a moment to celebrate.It certainly was an exciting wildlife encounter, but during the Pleistocene, there was an even more bizarre armored creature tramping through this region—the glyptodon, which was very similar to an armadillo, except huge. Like size-of-a-small-car huge. This mammal is often compared (in size and appearance) to a Volkswagen Beetle. The glyptodon (and its cousins) had an armored shell that was very effective protection—even the fiercest carnivores had trouble sinking their teeth into it. There does seem to be one predator, however, that might have found a way around (or through) the hard shell—humans. The extinction of the glyptodon in South America 10,000 years ago correlates with the arrival of humans.Why would humans hunt the glyptodon? For one, they provided a lot of meat. But also, the armored shell might have had some appeal—evidence suggests that humans used glyptodon armor as shelter and may have lived inside it.-CMFor more information: http://wrd.cm/1DNNmoEhttp://bit.ly/1w3YlwCPhoto Credit: Arent http://bit.ly/17RhYg5 -- source link
#glyptodon#armor#armadillo#geology#paleontology#paleoblr#fossil#fossils#extinction#extinct#fossilfriday