2" Glyptodon Fossil Osteoderm Spike Scute Plate Bony Armor Pleistocene Uruguay COA

Location: Uruguay

Weight: 1.1 Ounces 

Dimension: 2 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide, 1.1 Inches Thick

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive.

This is a real Fossil.

Glyptodon is a genus of extinct giant mammals related to modern armadillos and found as fossils in deposits in North and South America dating from the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (5.3 million to 11,700 years ago). Glyptodon and its close relatives, the glyptodonts, were encased from head to tail in thick, protective armor resembling in shape the shell of a turtle but composed of bony plates much like the covering of an armadillo. The body shell alone was as long as 1.5 meters (5 feet). The tail, also clad in armor, could serve as a lethal club; indeed, in some relatives of Glyptodon, the tip of the tail was a knob of bone that was sometimes spiked. Glyptodonts ate almost anything—plants, carrion, or insects.

If you look closely at Glyptodon pictures, then you might mistake this animal for some kind of science experiment that combined a turtle, a beaver, and an armadillo. However, this megafauna mammal was neither related to a turtle nor a beaver. It is a distant relative of the armadillo, though.

One of the most fascinating facts about Glyptodon is its size—it was roughly as big and heavy as a Volkswagen Beetle. Measuring about 10 feet long and weighing around a ton, this unusual mammal had short legs and a massive armored dome covering its back. This heavy armor made it nearly invulnerable to predators, unless one managed to flip it over, exposing its soft underbelly.

Glyptodon went extinct around 10,000 years ago, just before the end of the last Ice Age. While climate change likely played a role in its decline, paleontologists believe hunting by early South American humans was also a major factor. The meat and fur of Glyptodon would have been highly valuable, and there is evidence that its sturdy shells were even used as shelters to protect against the cold.