Doedicurus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doedicurus
Fossil range: Pleistocene

Doedicurus clavicaudatus

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Superorder:	Xenarthra
Order:	Cingulata
Family:	Glyptodontidae
Genus:	Doedicurus
Species:	D. clavicaudatus

Doedicurus clavicaudatus was a prehistoric glyptodont, living during the Pleistocene until the end of the last ice age, some 11 000 years ago. This was the largest known glyptodontid, and one of the better known members of the New World Pleistocene megafauna, with a height of 1.5 meters (5 ft) and an overall length of around 3.6 meters (12 ft). It had a huge domed carapace that was made of many tightly fitted scutes, somewhat similar to that of its modern-day relative, the armadillos. Its tail was surrounded by a flexible sheath of bone and had long spikes or knobs on the end, at least in male individuals (McNeill Alexander et al. 1999).

D. clavicaudatus inhabited woodlands and grasslands and was herbivorous. Its tail club was probably used in intraspecific conflict as Well as defense against predators like Smilodon. For one thing, the latter use would have been hard since the animal's field of vision was so limited that it would essentially have had to blindly thrash the tail club about. In addition, carapaces have been found which show fractures that were produced by roughly the same amount of energy as could be produced by the tail muscles (McNeill Alexander et al. 1999).

The carapace was firmly anchored to the pelvis, but loose around the shoulder. Its front bore an additional, smaller dome. This has been interpreted as a fat-filled space, similar to a camel's hump, which would have stored energy for the dry season and cushioned blows of the tail of rival animals (McNeill Alexander et al. 1999).

Fossils of D. clavicaudatus are found in North America and South America, especially the Ensenada Formation in Argentina. Given the late date of its disappearance, it was encountered and probably also hunted by the first human settlers of South America.

[edit] In popular culture

These animals were featured in Episode 5 of the BBC documentary Walking with Beasts. It is also featured as one of the adoptable animals in Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals.

[edit] References

McNeill Alexander, R.; Farin, Richard A. & Vizcaíno, Sergio F. (1999): Tail blow energy and carapace fractures in a large glyptodont (Mammalia, Xenarthra). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 126(1): 41–49. HTML abstract

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Glyptodontidae

Haines, Tim & Chambers, Paul. (2006) The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Canada: Firefly Books Ltd.
Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Simon & Schuster.