Description
This animal was roughly similar with modern armadillos, but with a very different carapace morphology. The size of Neoglyptatelus was situated between the size of a greater long-nosed armadillo and that of a giant armadillo ; the type species, Neoglyptatelus originalis, reached a length of 60 centimeters, excluding the tail, and a weight around 15 kilograms.
Its carapace was divided into two separate shields, one scapular and the other pelvic, composed of numerous polygonal osteoderms 1 centimeter thick and 1.5 centimeters long, and fused together to form a rigid structure ; the posterior margin of the scapular shield, which reached about half the total length of the body, consisted of two rows of wedge-shaped, imbricated osteoderms, covering the anterior margin of the pelvic shield. 'Neoglyptatelus was hence equipped with a shield rigid in most of its structure, but flexible in the middle of the back. This is a unique structure for a cingulate, the glyptodonts only having a completely rigid structure formed by fixed osteoderms, and the modern armadillos having several mobile bands in the middle of their backs.
The skull of Neoglyptatelus was long and thin, and devoid of teeth. The caudal armor was also composed of osteoderms placed side by side.
Glyptodonts are an extinct subfamily of large, heavily armoured armadillos. They arose in South America around 48 million years ago and spread to southern North America after the continents became connected around 2.7 million years ago. The best-known genus within the group is Glyptodon. They became extinct approximately 11,000 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene, following the arrival of humans to the Americas.
Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, is an order of armored New World placental mammals. Dasypodids and chlamyphorids, the armadillos, are the only surviving families in the order. Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant armadillos existed until recently: pampatheriids, which reached weights of up to 200 kg (440 lb) and chlamyphorid glyptodonts, which attained masses of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) or more.
Glyptotherium is a genus of glyptodont that lived from the Early Pliocene, about 4.9 million years ago, to the Early Holocene, around 7,000 years ago, in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, and Brazil. The genus was first described in 1903 by American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn with the type species being, G. texanum, based on fossils that had been found in the Pliocene Blancan Beds in Llano Estacado, Texas, USA. The genus has since been discovered in many more fossil sites. Another species, G. cylindricum, was named in 1912 by fossil hunter Barnum Brown on the basis of a partial carapace, teeth, and several additional fossils that had been unearthed from the Pleistocene deposits in Jalisco, Mexico.
Glyptodon is a genus of glyptodont that lived from the Pleistocene, around 2.5 million years ago, to the Early Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. It was the first named extinct cingulate and is the type genus of Glyptodontinae, and, or, Glyptodontinae. Many species have been named for the genus, though few are considered valid, and it is one of, if not the, best known genus of glyptodont. Hundreds of specimens have been referred to the genus, but the holotype, or name specimen, of the type species, G. clavipes, was described in 1839 by notable British paleontologist Sir Richard Owen. The holotype used by Owen is a chimera of fossils from 3 different localities, including a molariform used for the name of the genus that actually belongs to Panochthus, making it a species inquirenda.
Propalaehoplophorus, also written as Propalaeohoplophorus, is an extinct genus of glyptodont, which lived in South America during the Early Miocene epoch.
Stegotherium is an extinct genus of long-nosed armadillo, belonging to the Dasypodidae family alongside the nine-banded armadillo. It is currently the only genus recognized as a member of the tribe Stegotheriini. It lived during the Early Miocene of Patagonia and was found in Colhuehuapian rocks from the Sarmiento Formation, Santacrucian rocks from the Santa Cruz Formation, and potentially also in Colloncuran rocks from the Middle Miocene Collón Curá Formation. Its strange, almost toothless and elongated skull indicates a specialization for myrmecophagy, the eating of ants, unique among the order Cingulata, which includes pampatheres, glyptodonts and all the extant species of armadillos.
Neosclerocalyptus was an extinct genus of glyptodont that lived during the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene of Southern South America, mostly Argentina. It was small compared to many Glyptodonts at only around 2 meters long and 360 kilograms.
Pampatherium is an extinct genus of xenarthran that lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene. Some species went extinct right at the Pleistocene-Holocene border.
Kelenkura is an extinct genus of heavily armored mammals belonging to the subfamily Glyptodontinae, from the family Chlamyphoridae that contain most of the modern armadillos. It was a medium-sized South American animal, distantly related to Doedicurus. Fossils of this genus were recovered in the Arroyo Chasicó Formation and in the Loma de Las Tapias Formation of Argentina in rocks dating back to the Late Miocene epoch.
Kraglievichia is an extinct genus of cingulate belonging to the family Pampatheriidae. It lived from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Scirrotherium is an extinct genus of pampatheres, a family of herbivorous cingulates, related to the similar but smaller modern armadillos, and with the now extinct glyptodonts, well-known from their shell-like armor. Its scientific name is derived from the Greek prefix "skiros-", "cover", and the suffix "-therion, "beast", while the name of the type species, hondaensis, honors the town of Honda, in the Tolima Department of Colombia. Scirrotherium is one of several genera of xenarthrans found in the La Venta fauna, dated from the Middle Miocene.
Punatherium is an extinct genus of xenarthran, belonging to the family Dasypodidae. It lived from the Middle to the Late Eocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Proeutatus is an extinct genus of xenarthran, belonging to the order Cingulata. It lived during the Early Miocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Proeuphractus is an extinct genus of xenarthran, related to the modern armadillos. It lived from the Early to the Late Miocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Eucinepeltus is an extinct genus of Glyptodont. It lived during the Early Miocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Glyptatelus is an extinct genus of glyptodont. It lived from the Late Eocene to the Middle Oligocene in what is now Argentina and Bolivia.
Phlyctaenopyga is an extinct genus of Glyptodont. It lived from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Comaphorus is a dubious extinct genus of glyptodont. It lived during the Late Miocene in Argentina, but only one fossil has ever been referred to the animal.
Cochlops is an extinct genus of glyptodont. It lived from the Early to Middle Miocene, and its fossilized remains have been found in South America.
Nanoastegotherium is an extinct genus of cingulate, belonging to the family Dasypodidae, which includes the modern nine-banded armadillos. The name of the genus means "small Astegotherium", referring to its small size, smaller than the modern southern long-nosed armadillo, and to its affinities with Astegotherium, with which it forms the tribe Astegotheriini, within the family Dasypodidae. Its type species is Nanoastegotherium prostatum, whose species translates to "earlier" due to its age compared to Astegotherium.
