amnhnyc:

That’s one big “armadillo.” Today’s Exhibit of the Day is the enormous Panochthus frenzelianus, a glyptodont! You might not guess it, but scientists think one of their closest relatives includes the tiny 4-oz (113-g) pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus).

Some species of glyptodont, like the specimen pictured here, were the size of cars. They were covered in thick armor made from bone that grew from within their skin and could grow up to 10 ft (3 m) long. Their shells, or carapaces, were incredibly heavy: Some weighed more than 1,100 pounds (499 kg)! These enormous plant-eaters lumbered across the Americas for millions of years before their extinction at the end of the last ice age.

Photo: ptc-6750, © AMNH Library, circa 1993
#paleontology #amnh #museum #science #amazingnature #extinct
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