Glyptodon

They quickly discovered these were indeed gigantic shells, but what they'd protected had been dead a long, long time.

These were the fossils of an ancient species of giant armadillo called Glyptodon, a prehistoric animal that lived 3.2 million to 11,000 years ago.

and the archaeologists managed to hit the dead animal jackpot, they didn't just find one or two, but four glyptodons.

These particular specimens were about 20,000 years old, with shells some five feet long and as thick as two inches.

So here's a post from the Kropp family.

"Hey, DG, I have one more picture for you, and this one is of a wooly mammoth, Smilodon, Glyptodon, and Megatherium, and I even drew the ground for the pictures." This is really, really nice.

This is from David Raptor.

Uh, David lives here in Texas.

The size and power of Arctodus simus turn it into one of the most fearsome mammals that have ever existed.

Glyptodon was a gigantic creature similar to an armadillo that lived between 5.3 million and 11,700 years ago.

With a length of 10 feet and a weight of up to 4,000 pounds, this strange herbivore walked through what are currently North America and South America.

Although it possessed a powerful tail and an armored back formed by a thousand bone plates, it probably had a fairly peaceful existence.

As a herbivore, Glyptodon mainly fed on grass, and did not need to participate in bloody food fights.

However, he could definitely defend himself from predators and even from other Glyptodons if necessary.

Its powerful tail could crush the skull of a human being, and its back, similar to a shell, provided a formidable defense against most predators.

Glyptodon represents an extreme case of evolution of the armor, more similar to a walking tank than to any modern mammal.

Still a little more today, though, as we have to continue our Ice Age show, which intertwines with the dino collection.

We saw the Glyptodon already.

That's Tuck.

How about little Slomo the giant sloth? Oh, perfect.

I do appreciate in this movie that they give a little bit of love to the things that...

I don't think there would be any other movie where you would see a Brontothyr or a Glyptodon or something.

I like that.

I like an underdog species.

They were peaceful grazing animals, living in harmony with their world.

The Glyptodon was a remarkable creature that walked the Earth between 5.3 million and 11,700 years ago, reaching 10 feet in length and weighing as much as 4,000 pounds.

Its entire body was covered with a shell made of approximately 1,000 bony plates, creating an armored appearance that might seem threatening at first glance.

Yet despite this intimidating exterior, the glyptodon was entirely herbivorous, spending its existence peacefully eating grass in the grasslands of North and South America.

It simply existed, eating and moving through the landscape, protected by its shell.

This peacefully armoured giant reminds us that size and apparent ferocity do not determine a creature's actual nature.

Glyptodons lived in comfortable security, their shells providing all the protection they needed.

When humans arrived in the Americas thousands of years ago, glyptodons were so gentle and trusting, they did not flee.