Beware the Giant Armadillo  

Giant Armadillos used to roam the Earth eons ago like 2,000 pound tanks of the Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. Here’s the story of one fossil recently discovered in South America.  Truly a cryptozoology lover’s delight!

Reina Coronel told reporters, “My husband [Jose Antonio Nievas] went out to the car and when he came back he said, ‘Hey, I just found an egg that looks like it came from a dinosaur. We all laughed because we thought it was a joke.”

But it was far from a joke. Mr. Nievas found a 2,000 pound fossil near a river bank on his farm in Carlos Spegazzini which is south of Buenos Aires in Argentina (photo below).

Scientists examined the fossil, which really does look like a big egg or rock. But paleontologist Alejandro Kramarz of the Bernadino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum said, “There is no doubt that it looks like a glyptodont. The animal became extinct thousands of years ago and it is very common to find their fossils in this region.”

When tested, this fossil shell dated to approximately 10,000 years ago.

Glyptodont?

A glyptodont is a giant armadillo that lived between 2 million years ago up to 10,000 years ago. Scientists believe they have been extinct for a long time.

They shared the same rounded back dome, short stumpy legs, and a short head and neck of modern day armadillos. Their domes were so thick and heavy, they were considered armored.  They grew to be about ten feet long and could weigh up to a ton. Some researchers say they were about the size of a VW Beetle.

They lived throughout South America including Mexico, and made it up into the USA in Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Unless they stepped on your toe they weren’t dangerous because they were herbivores, eating only plants.  Their upgraded armor was their defense against other super-sized creatures roaming the Earth at the same time, much as it is today for the lowly little armadillo. (Glyptodont fossil tail, below right.)

Fascinating creature! Are you wishing they were still around, like I am? Maybe deep in some South American rainforest somewhere? We can dream!

Til the next time!

References

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/19042/20151230/prehistoric-giant-armadillo-shell-found-argentina.htm

http://www.americanow.com/story/society/2016/12/27/strange-object-riverbank-goes-viral-photo

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/g/glyptodon.html

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