What is Glyptodon?
[[Image:Glyptodon old drawing.jpg|thumb|left|Humans hunting a glyptodon]] '''''Glyptodon''''' is a [[genus]] of [[glyptodont]]. It is part of the placental group of mammals known as [[Xenarthra]]. This order of mammals includes [[anteater]]s, tree [[sloth]]s, [[extinction|extinct]] [[ground sloth]]s, extinct [[Pampatheriidae|pampatheres]], and [[armadillo]]s. ''Glyptodon'' came from [[South America]]. A related genus, ''[[Glyptotherium]]'', first appeared in the south-west of the modern USA about 2.5 million years ago as a result of the [[Great American Interchange]]. These [[herbivore]]s (plant-eaters) would not have been [[wikt:vulnerable|vulnerable]] to the [[Sparassodont]] carnivores of the day. The native human population in their range is believed to have hunted them and used the shells for shelter in bad weather.<ref>Fidalgo F. ''et al.'' 1986. Investigaciones arqueológicas en el sitio 2 de Arroyo Seco (Pdo. de Tres Arroyos, prov. de Buenos Aires, República Argentina) In: Bryan, Alan (ed) ''New evidence for the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas''. Peopling of the Americas Symposia Series, Center for the Study of Early Man, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. 221-269, in Spanish. {{ISBN|0-912933-03-8}}</ref><ref>Politis, Gustavo G. and Gutierrez, Maria A. 1998. Gliptodontes y Cazadores-Recolectores de la Region Pampeana (Argentina) (Glyptodonts and Hunter-Gatherers in the Pampas Region (Argentina), in Spanish. ''Latin American Antiquity'' '''9'''(2): 111-134</ref> == References == {{commonscat|Glyptodon}} {{Reflist}} * David Lambert and the Diagram Group. 1985. ''The field guide to prehistoric life''. New York: Facts on File Publications. {{ISBN|0-8160-1125-7}} == Gallery == <gallery> Image:Glyptodon asper armor.JPG Image:Glyptodon asper from behind.JPG Image:Glyptodon asper skeleton side.JPG Image:Glyptodon asper skull side.JPG Image:Glyptodon asper tail.JPG Image:Glyptodon-1.jpg Image:Glyptodon carapace fragment Pleistocene.JPG </gallery> [[Category:Xenarthrans]] [[Category:Fossils]] [[Category