Fossils confirm the ancient glyptodonts are related to modern

Fossils confirm the ancient glyptodonts are related to modern-day arma... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3458331/Plugging-gaps...
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DNA analysis proves that extinct glyptodonts were a type of armadillo
They lived alongside sabre-toothed cats and giant sloths until last ice age
Thick armour carapace preserved fragments of mitochondrial DNA
Animal weighed up to 2,000kg and they swung a spiky tail for protection
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The puzzle over the identity of the glyptodont, an extinct giant land animal from South America, has
been solved - and the creature has been confirmed as being an ancient armadillo as big as a truck.
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The creature, weighing as much as two tonnes, would have been a fearsome sight as it lumbered
through the forests, protected by thick armour and swinging a spiked tail like a medieval mace.
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Their appearance is similar to an armadillo, and scientists had long suspected that glyptodonts
were related to the modern animals, but until now their huge size meant their lineage had been in
doubt.
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The puzzle over the identity of the glyptodont, an extinct giant land animal from South America, has been
solved - and the creature has been confirmed as an ancient armadillo as big as a truck. Glyptodonts
(illustrated) lived in South America and had big round armoured shells, weighing up to a ton
Now, DNA analysis of fossilised fragments has confirmed their family tree, and the scientists have
that armour plating to thank.
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It was under the bony shell that microscopic scraps of mitochondrial DNA remained protected for
thousands of years.
The molecular evidence is reported in the
journal Current Biology.
'Glyptodonts represent an extinct lineage that
IDENTIFYING THE GLYPTODONT
Recent advances in DNA capture and genome
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25/02/2016 18:04
Fossils confirm the ancient glyptodonts are related to modern-day arma... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3458331/Plugging-gaps...
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likely originated about 35 million years ago,'
said author Hendrik Poinar of McMaster
University in Canada.
sequencing technology made it possible for
researchers to extract fragments of DNA from
beneath fossilised carapaces of glyptodonts.
His analysis suggests that when glyptodonts
diverged from other armadillos, they weighed a
mere 6kg (13lbs).
By sequencing these fragments they were
able to reconstruct a family tree going back at
least 35 million years.
As they evolved in a separate line, their
spectacular increase in size saw them grow first
to around 80kg (176lbs).
They used 'RNA baits' designed from
computer models of DNA based on modern
sequences from living relatives.
They then became true megafauna in the
Pleistocene epoch, reaching a massive 2,000kg
(4,409lbs).
This phylogenetic analysis showed that
glyptodonts represent a distinct subfamily
within the Chlamyphoridae, a family group
represented today by the dwarf pink fairy
armadillo and the giant armadillo.
Co-author Frédéric Delsuc of CNRS in France
thinks the single-plate armour, or unarticulated
carapace, evolved as a result of this enormous
increase in size.
Poinar and Delsuc have a long interest in xenarthrans, a group of living and extinct mammals
including armadillos, anteaters, and sloths.
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DNA analysis of fossilised fragments (pictured has confirmed their family tree. As they evolved in a separate
line, their spectacular increase in size saw them grow first to around 80kg, and then to become true
megafauna in the Pleistocene epoch, reaching a massive 2,000kg
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Glyptodonts are the ancestor of modern armadillos which can be found across South America. A stock image
25/02/2016 18:04
Fossils confirm the ancient glyptodonts are related to modern-day arma... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3458331/Plugging-gaps...
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of a hairy armadillo is shown above
Glyptodonts became extinct by the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago.
They would have needed their spiky tails to defend themselves against the giant ground sloths and
sabre-toothed cats that lived alongside them.
Among their closest surviving relatives, ironically, is the dwarf pink fairy armadillo.
This creature is about 100mm long and weighs just 120g, making it the smallest member of the
armadillo family.
Over Christmas, farmer Jose Antonio Nievas stumbled across what experts believe are the remains
of this prehistoric giant.
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Over Christmas, farmer Jose Antonio Nievas stumbled across what experts believe are the remains of the
prehistoric giant. The 3ft (one metre) long shell (pictured) was found on a riverbank near a farm in Argentina
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At first, Mr Nievas thought the black scaly shell (pictured) was a dinosaur egg when he saw it in the mud, his
wife Reina Coronel said. But a palaeontologist who studied the pictures later said it belonged to an ancient
ancestor of the armadillo
The 3ft (one metre) long shell was discovered on a riverbank near a local farm in Argentina.
While there is a chance the shell is a hoax because it hasn't been studied directly by experts,
Adrian Lister of the Natural History Museum, London, told MailOnline: 'I think it is quite likely this is
genuine.'
'The shell looks like a genuine glyptodont shell, and the hole is "wear and tear", not where the head
or tail went,' he explained.
At first, Mr Nievas thought the black scaly shell was a dinosaur egg when he saw it in the mud, his
wife Reina Coronel said.
But a palaeontologist who studied the pictures later said it belonged to an ancient ancestor of the
armadillo.
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Fossils confirm the ancient glyptodonts are related to modern-day arma... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3458331/Plugging-gaps...
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Glyptodonts are the ancestor of modern armadillos, which can be found across South America.
They were much larger, weighing almost as much as a small car and were covered in armour
some two inches (5cm) thick.
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The armour was made of bony deposits in their skin called osteoderms or scutes.
Each species of glyptodont had a unique osteoderm pattern and shell type, making them relatively
easy to identify.
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Each species of glyptodont (illustrated) had a unique osteoderm pattern and shell type, making them
relatively easy to identify. While they may have had tortoise-like shells, they could not withdraw their heads,
but their armoured skin provided a bony cap on the top of their skull for protection against predators
While they may have had tortoise-like shells, they could not withdraw their heads, but their
armoured skin provided a bony cap on the top of their skull for protection against predators.
Doedicurus - one type of glyptodont - possessed a large mace-like spiked tail that it would have
used to defend itself from predators such as large carnivorous birds.
The relatively gentle giants were herbivores and had a number of cheek teeth to grind tough
plants effectively.
Glyptodonts roamed South America, gradually spreading north over millions of years and finally
became extinct 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.
Other megafaunal species such as giant ground sloths and pampatheres - another armoured
armadillo-like animal - died out at this time.
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