Post by Hardcastle on Jul 25, 2023 13:47:51 GMT
Doedicurus clavicaudatus
Doedicurus is an extinct genus of glyptodont from South America containing one species, D. clavicaudatus. Glyptodonts are a member of the family Chlamyphoridae, which also includes some modern armadillo species, and they are classified in the superorder Xenarthra alongside sloths and anteaters. Being a glyptodont, it was a rotund animal with heavy armor and a carapace. Averaging at an approximate 1,400 kg (3,100 lb), it was one of the largest glyptodonts to have ever lived. Though glyptodonts were quadrupeds, large ones like Doedicurus may have been able to stand on two legs like other xenarthrans. It notably sported a spiked tail club, which may have weighed 40 or 65 kg (88 or 143 lb) in life, and it may have swung this in defense against predators or in fights with other Doedicurus at speeds of perhaps 11 m/s (40 km/h; 25 mph).
Doedicurus, on average, had a height of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), an overall length of around 3.6 m (12 ft), and a weight of about 1,400 kg (3,100 lb), but an 8,000 year old specimen was calculated to have been 1,900 to 2,370 kg (4,190 to 5,220 lb), which could indicate Doedicurus grew much larger in the Holocene just before going extinct. This makes it one of the heaviest glyptodont species known, alongside Pa. intermedius, Pa. subintermedius, G. munizi, G. elongatus, and Plaxhaplous. Doedicurus had a huge domed carapace that was made of many tightly fitted scutes, somewhat similar to that of its modern-day relative, the armadillos. The carapace was firmly anchored to the pelvis but loose around the shoulder. The carapace featured a dome, which may have been a fat-filled space, similar to a camel's hump.
Its tail was surrounded by a flexible sheath of bone, and features shallow depressions along the edges, which may have been spikes in life. The tail club could reach up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length. Assuming a maximum strain of 0.25 (typical for vertebrates), stress exertion of 3x105 N m−2 (based on what is measured in the muscles of recently dead animals), and a volume of 100 L (22 imp gal; 26 US gal) for the tail muscle, Doedicurus may have been capable of delivering a blow of about 2.5 kJ (1,800 ft⋅lbf), though this may be an underestimate. Assuming a total mass of 40 kg (88 lb) in life for the club, this would equate to a maximum velocity of 11 m/s (40 km/h; 25 mph). The tip of the tail may have reached 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph). Assuming the club was 65 kg (143 lb) in life, the center of percussion (the point of impact on the club which would have exerted maximum force and minimized damage done to itself) would have been about 77 cm (2.5 ft) from the tip.
Glyptodon clavipes
Glyptodon (from Greek for "grooved or carved tooth": γλυπτός "sculptured" and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς "tooth") is a genus of glyptodontine (an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos) in the family Chlamyphoridae (a family of South American armadillos) that lived from the Pliocene, around 3.2 million years ago, to the early Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia. It is one of, if not the, best known genus of glyptodont. Glyptodon has a long and storied past, being the first named extinct cingulate and the type genus of the subfamily Glyptodontinae. Fossils of Glyptodon have been recorded as early as 1814 from Pleistocene aged deposits from Uruguay, though many were incorrectly referred to the ground sloth Megatherium by early paleontologists.
Like the extant armadillos and all other glyptodontines, Glyptodon had a large, bony carapace that covered much of its torso, as well as smaller cephalic armor covering the roof of its head, akin to that in turtles. The carapace was composed of hundreds of small, hexagonal osteoderms (armored structures made of bone), with Glyptodon carapaces preserving a total of 1,800 osteoderms each. The anatomy of different Glyptodon species varies greatly, mostly in the species G. jatunkhirkhi which is more similar to Glyptotherium in certain aspects.
During the Pleistocene, the diversity of glyptodontines diminished but body size increased, with the largest known glyptodont, Doedicurus, evolving in the Pleistocene. Glyptodon sizes vary between species and individuals. G. clavipes, the type species, was estimated to weigh 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb), G. reticulatus weighed a mere 401 kilograms (884 lb) to 862 kilograms (1,900 lb), and G. munizi weighed 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb). A partial skeleton of G. clavipes measured 3.5 metres (11 ft) with a carapace length of 1.7 metres (5.6 ft), while the carapaces of other species like G. munizi and G. reticulatus measured 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) and 2.19 metres (7.2 ft) long respectively.
Glyptodon had very primitive tail anatomy for a glyptodont, possessing eight or nine mobile caudal rings of fused, large, conical osteoderms, and lacked a tail club like more advanced glyptodontines such as Doedicurus and Panochthus.
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Thanks to Hafstanni for this matchup.
Doedicurus is an extinct genus of glyptodont from South America containing one species, D. clavicaudatus. Glyptodonts are a member of the family Chlamyphoridae, which also includes some modern armadillo species, and they are classified in the superorder Xenarthra alongside sloths and anteaters. Being a glyptodont, it was a rotund animal with heavy armor and a carapace. Averaging at an approximate 1,400 kg (3,100 lb), it was one of the largest glyptodonts to have ever lived. Though glyptodonts were quadrupeds, large ones like Doedicurus may have been able to stand on two legs like other xenarthrans. It notably sported a spiked tail club, which may have weighed 40 or 65 kg (88 or 143 lb) in life, and it may have swung this in defense against predators or in fights with other Doedicurus at speeds of perhaps 11 m/s (40 km/h; 25 mph).
Doedicurus, on average, had a height of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), an overall length of around 3.6 m (12 ft), and a weight of about 1,400 kg (3,100 lb), but an 8,000 year old specimen was calculated to have been 1,900 to 2,370 kg (4,190 to 5,220 lb), which could indicate Doedicurus grew much larger in the Holocene just before going extinct. This makes it one of the heaviest glyptodont species known, alongside Pa. intermedius, Pa. subintermedius, G. munizi, G. elongatus, and Plaxhaplous. Doedicurus had a huge domed carapace that was made of many tightly fitted scutes, somewhat similar to that of its modern-day relative, the armadillos. The carapace was firmly anchored to the pelvis but loose around the shoulder. The carapace featured a dome, which may have been a fat-filled space, similar to a camel's hump.
Its tail was surrounded by a flexible sheath of bone, and features shallow depressions along the edges, which may have been spikes in life. The tail club could reach up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length. Assuming a maximum strain of 0.25 (typical for vertebrates), stress exertion of 3x105 N m−2 (based on what is measured in the muscles of recently dead animals), and a volume of 100 L (22 imp gal; 26 US gal) for the tail muscle, Doedicurus may have been capable of delivering a blow of about 2.5 kJ (1,800 ft⋅lbf), though this may be an underestimate. Assuming a total mass of 40 kg (88 lb) in life for the club, this would equate to a maximum velocity of 11 m/s (40 km/h; 25 mph). The tip of the tail may have reached 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph). Assuming the club was 65 kg (143 lb) in life, the center of percussion (the point of impact on the club which would have exerted maximum force and minimized damage done to itself) would have been about 77 cm (2.5 ft) from the tip.
Glyptodon clavipes
Glyptodon (from Greek for "grooved or carved tooth": γλυπτός "sculptured" and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς "tooth") is a genus of glyptodontine (an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos) in the family Chlamyphoridae (a family of South American armadillos) that lived from the Pliocene, around 3.2 million years ago, to the early Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia. It is one of, if not the, best known genus of glyptodont. Glyptodon has a long and storied past, being the first named extinct cingulate and the type genus of the subfamily Glyptodontinae. Fossils of Glyptodon have been recorded as early as 1814 from Pleistocene aged deposits from Uruguay, though many were incorrectly referred to the ground sloth Megatherium by early paleontologists.
Like the extant armadillos and all other glyptodontines, Glyptodon had a large, bony carapace that covered much of its torso, as well as smaller cephalic armor covering the roof of its head, akin to that in turtles. The carapace was composed of hundreds of small, hexagonal osteoderms (armored structures made of bone), with Glyptodon carapaces preserving a total of 1,800 osteoderms each. The anatomy of different Glyptodon species varies greatly, mostly in the species G. jatunkhirkhi which is more similar to Glyptotherium in certain aspects.
During the Pleistocene, the diversity of glyptodontines diminished but body size increased, with the largest known glyptodont, Doedicurus, evolving in the Pleistocene. Glyptodon sizes vary between species and individuals. G. clavipes, the type species, was estimated to weigh 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb), G. reticulatus weighed a mere 401 kilograms (884 lb) to 862 kilograms (1,900 lb), and G. munizi weighed 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb). A partial skeleton of G. clavipes measured 3.5 metres (11 ft) with a carapace length of 1.7 metres (5.6 ft), while the carapaces of other species like G. munizi and G. reticulatus measured 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) and 2.19 metres (7.2 ft) long respectively.
Glyptodon had very primitive tail anatomy for a glyptodont, possessing eight or nine mobile caudal rings of fused, large, conical osteoderms, and lacked a tail club like more advanced glyptodontines such as Doedicurus and Panochthus.
Thanks to Hafstanni for this matchup.
