Peltephilus

Peltephilus
Temporal range: Oligocene–Miocene
artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Superorder: Xenarthra
Order: Cingulata
Family: Chlamyphoridae
Genus: Peltephilus
Species: P. ferox

Peltephilus ferox, the horned armadillo, is an extinct species of dog-sized, armadillo xenarthran mammal which first inhabited Argentina during the Oligocene epoch, and became extinct in the Miocene epoch. Notably, the scutes on its head were so developed that they formed horns protecting its eyes. Aside from the horned gophers of North America, it is the only known fossorial horned mammal.[1]

Although it had traditionally been perceived as a carnivore because of its large, triangular-shaped teeth, Vizcaino and Farina argued in 1997 that Peltephilus was a herbivore.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp. 208–209. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  2. ↑ Vizcaino, S. F., & R. A. Farina (1997), Diet and locomotion of the armadillo Peltephilus: a new view. Lethaia, 30, 79-86.
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