Peltefil

Peltephilus ( lat. Peltephilus ferox , from other Greek πέλτη "leather shield" and φίλος "lover", lat. Ferox "ferocious") - a genus of extinct neurose from the family of armadillos . These animals reached the size of a dog and lived on the plains ^{[2] of} South America (in Argentina , Bolivia and Chile ) from the time of the Oligocene to the Early / Middle Miocene ^[3] (about 25-20 million years ago ^[2] ). He lived mainly in the era of the undivided dominance of fororakos .

† Peltefil
Reconstruction of the artist
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animals Type of: Chordate Grade: Mammals Subclass: Placental Squad: Toothed Family: Armadillo Gender: † Peltefil
Latin name
Peltephilus Ameghino , 1887
Views [1]
† Peltephilus ferox † Peltephilus grandis † Peltephilus granosus † Peltephilus nanus † Peltephilus protervus † Peltephilus pumilus † Peltephilus strepens † Peltephilus undulatus

The shields on his head were so developed that they formed horns to protect his eyes. They were probably a sexual characteristic (that is, which of the males had longer horns, he could mate with more females ^[2] ). It was the only fossil burrowing animal with horns (along with the so-called “horned groundhog,” or Ceratogaulus , who lived in North America) ^[4] . Among the distinctive features of the peltefil, one can also distinguish large claws on the limbs crowning his short legs. They were ideally suited for digging, especially for tearing anthills and termite colonies ^[3] .

Traditionally, the peltefil was considered a carnivore, which paleontologists were prompted by its large triangular teeth . However, in 1997, paleontologists Viskayno and Farina were the first to claim that he was a herbivorous creature ^[5] .

The length of the peltefil was about one and a half meters ^[3] . He weighed 68–90 kg. Despite its size, it had nothing to do with the glyptodonts and dedicurus, which appeared several million years later ^[2] .