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Description
Doedicurus clavicaudatus

South America has been home to some of the most unique creatures that ever walked the planet. One group, the Cingulata include some of the most unique of all armored animals, the Armadillos. Members of the Xenarthrans which include both Anteaters and Sloths as well. This group of animals evolved in South America, around 58,000,000 years ago. Throughout the Cenozoic, they evolved to fill a variety of niches since South America was cut off from the rest of the planet till around 2,000,000 years ago. By the dawn of the Pleistocene, one of the most iconic Cingulates had evolved, Doedicurus clavicaudatus.

History of Discovery:

In 1847, famed naturalist Sir Richard Owen was sent a partial tail from South America. When it was first described, it was thought it was another species of Glyptodon. Among the peculiarities Owen noted was what appeared to be an area for a tail club appendage. Based on that, Owen decided to call it Glyptodon clavicaudatus, the species name literally meaning “Club-Tailed” in Latin. It was not until 1874 when German Zoologist Hermann Burmeister described with more material. Among them, what appeared to be a section of the tail club with several indentations in this clubbed section. Burmeister reclassified the animal as Doedicurus clavicaudatus, the genus name meaning “pestle-tail”, after the distinctive hollow indentations scattered around the tail club.

Description:

Doedicurus itself was a massive animal, among the largest if not the largest of all Glyptodonts. At around 5ft tall and 12ft long, they were the size of Volkswagen Beetles and weighed around the same, if not bigger. At up to 1-1.5 tons, however, a large specimen dated to around 8,000 years ago was calculated to have been around 2.5 tons. Like most glyptodonts, they had a massive carapace that covered their torso and offered protection from apex predators. Their head would have had a bit of armor atop their skull for added protection as well with a small section of bony scutes atop the head.

Classification:

Doedicurus was a member of the Glyptodont subfamily of Cingulates. The largest modern cingulate, the Giant Armadillo can reach weights of up to 100lbs, however, a large adult Doedicurus could reach weights 50 times that size. Ironically, the largest Armadillo alive today is not the closest relative to Doedicurus and Glyptodonts.

In 2016, DNA was extracted from an armored carapace of a Doedicurus. Amazingly, the closest modern cousin to this armored behemoth is actually the small fairy armadillos. Weighing in at less than 120g or 4.2oz, some 22-20,000,000 years ago, they shared a common ancestor together, one group became small burrowing animals eating insects, another group would become megafaunal herbivores.

Behavior:

Behavior-wise, this giant was a massive grazer of the plains and woodlands of South America. At this time, South America was covered in sprawling grassland. Studies show this animal was confined to more seasonal plains of Northeast Patagonia where temperatures ranged from humid summers to cold winters.
The skull sported molars designed to process large amounts of grass on the plains. However, studies indicate that Doedicurus had a reduced gape and jaw muscles which likely prevented it from fully chewing its food. Studies suggest that this animal may have had a reduced metabolism to compensate for this lack of chewing muscles. Some think large glyptodonts may have had a more developed cecum to better process the grazing material in its gut. Without any modern-day herbivorous armadillos to study, these are only theories as to how these animals ate.

Tail Club:

The most distinctive feature of this animal was the tail club. In the fossil record, several clubs have been found throughout South America. The tail clubs had depressions scattered throughout the club, some depressions deeper than others. More than likely, these depressions within the club would have sported spikes as indentations in the club show evidence of attachment points on it. However, no spikes have been found. It’s possible that the spikes were keratinous as that does not fossilize often in the fossil record.
If it did have spikes on the tail, the tail probably would have functioned in a similar manner to that of Thyreophoran dinosaurs such as the Ankylosaurs. The club could have reached lengths of 3ft, and, like the spiked and clubbed dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, it was almost certainly used for protection against predation as well as combat between rival males. Further adding to this was a trait central to most Xenarthrans, in that the center of mass was put closer to the hindlimbs. Meaning that if it swung the tail, its limbs could have supported the bulk of the animal.

Predation and Club Use:

Like most cingulates, this animal had poor eyesight. Some think this would have prevented it from using its tail effectively as a weapon. However, even with its poor eyesight, for defense it could have just hunkered down in the dirt and swung its tail from side to side to protect itself. In terms of predators, the only animal that could have hunted it was likely Smilodon. Recent finds from South America show that Smilodon, despite its seemingly fragile fangs, fossil finds show that it could have driven its skull into solid bone. Mainly because a fossil of a Smilodon was shown with a puncture mark atop the skull of a rival Smilodon. It’s not beyond belief to suggest Doedicurus was on the menu as well.

Another use of the club that has been put forth was combat. Mainly between rivals be it due to territorial disputes or mating rights. Indentations in various carapaces of Doedicurus back this theory up, suggesting these were blows delivered by rival Doedicurus as it looks like the carapace sections had buckled when they were struck.

Extinction:

Doedicurus was among the last of all Glyptodonts, persisting till around 7,000 years ago. The cause is largely believed to have been due to overhunting and climate change. A specimen dated to around 7,500 years ago shows signs of butchery done by stone tools. The southern pampas would have been the last refuge for these magnificent, armored giants. Being further south than other animals, this region would have been the last place in the New World where humans reached. Another victim of the Pleistocene extinction, all that remains are the fossils of this animal, and one can only wonder what this creature would have been like. Its monstrous bulk propelling it through the grasses of the Pleistocene Pampas.

While they may be extinct it is thanks to this animal that paleontologists have a better insight into these megafaunal armored herbivores that walked the South American grassland.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Bit of a surprise profile on this Monday, but I decided to redo an old profile that has been grading on me. Mainly because my acquaintance just redid the Doedicurus and I thought I'd show the new model and base I'd use for glyptodonts in the future. As a future note, most of the profiles I'm gonna do will be redone in the near future with better models and writing as the Doedicurus was done before I updated my writing style. Furthermore, I wanted to be more concise in terms of my facts and tell more information about this awesome herbivore.

Will this be in PMP? No, but, I am planning on rescuing a glyptodont for season 2 so look forward to that.

Doedicurus by DemonHunter:
Doedicurus (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

Description
Doedicurus clavicaudatus

South America has been home to some of the most unique creatures that ever walked the planet. One group, the Cingulata include some of the most unique of all armored animals, the Armadillos. Members of the Xenarthrans which include both Anteaters and Sloths as well. This group of animals evolved in South America, around 58,000,000 years ago. Throughout the Cenozoic, they evolved to fill a variety of niches since South America was cut off from the rest of the planet till around 2,000,000 years ago. By the dawn of the Pleistocene, one of the most iconic Cingulates had evolved, Doedicurus clavicaudatus.

History of Discovery:

In 1847, famed naturalist Sir Richard Owen was sent a partial tail from South America. When it was first described, it was thought it was another species of Glyptodon. Among the peculiarities Owen noted was what appeared to be an area for a tail club appendage. Based on that, Owen decided to call it Glyptodon clavicaudatus, the species name literally meaning “Club-Tailed” in Latin. It was not until 1874 when German Zoologist Hermann Burmeister described with more material. Among them, what appeared to be a section of the tail club with several indentations in this clubbed section. Burmeister reclassified the animal as Doedicurus clavicaudatus, the genus name meaning “pestle-tail”, after the distinctive hollow indentations scattered around the tail club.

Description:

Doedicurus itself was a massive animal, among the largest if not the largest of all Glyptodonts. At around 5ft tall and 12ft long, they were the size of Volkswagen Beetles and weighed around the same, if not bigger. At up to 1-1.5 tons, however, a large specimen dated to around 8,000 years ago was calculated to have been around 2.5 tons. Like most glyptodonts, they had a massive carapace that covered their torso and offered protection from apex predators. Their head would have had a bit of armor atop their skull for added protection as well with a small section of bony scutes atop the head.

Classification:

Doedicurus was a member of the Glyptodont subfamily of Cingulates. The largest modern cingulate, the Giant Armadillo can reach weights of up to 100lbs, however, a large adult Doedicurus could reach weights 50 times that size. Ironically, the largest Armadillo alive today is not the closest relative to Doedicurus and Glyptodonts.

In 2016, DNA was extracted from an armored carapace of a Doedicurus. Amazingly, the closest modern cousin to this armored behemoth is actually the small fairy armadillos. Weighing in at less than 120g or 4.2oz, some 22-20,000,000 years ago, they shared a common ancestor together, one group became small burrowing animals eating insects, another group would become megafaunal herbivores.

Behavior:

Behavior-wise, this giant was a massive grazer of the plains and woodlands of South America. At this time, South America was covered in sprawling grassland. Studies show this animal was confined to more seasonal plains of Northeast Patagonia where temperatures ranged from humid summers to cold winters.
The skull sported molars designed to process large amounts of grass on the plains. However, studies indicate that Doedicurus had a reduced gape and jaw muscles which likely prevented it from fully chewing its food. Studies suggest that this animal may have had a reduced metabolism to compensate for this lack of chewing muscles. Some think large glyptodonts may have had a more developed cecum to better process the grazing material in its gut. Without any modern-day herbivorous armadillos to study, these are only theories as to how these animals ate.

Tail Club:

The most distinctive feature of this animal was the tail club. In the fossil record, several clubs have been found throughout South America. The tail clubs had depressions scattered throughout the club, some depressions deeper than others. More than likely, these depressions within the club would have sported spikes as indentations in the club show evidence of attachment points on it. However, no spikes have been found. It’s possible that the spikes were keratinous as that does not fossilize often in the fossil record.
If it did have spikes on the tail, the tail probably would have functioned in a similar manner to that of Thyreophoran dinosaurs such as the Ankylosaurs. The club could have reached lengths of 3ft, and, like the spiked and clubbed dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, it was almost certainly used for protection against predation as well as combat between rival males. Further adding to this was a trait central to most Xenarthrans, in that the center of mass was put closer to the hindlimbs. Meaning that if it swung the tail, its limbs could have supported the bulk of the animal.

Predation and Club Use:

Like most cingulates, this animal had poor eyesight. Some think this would have prevented it from using its tail effectively as a weapon. However, even with its poor eyesight, for defense it could have just hunkered down in the dirt and swung its tail from side to side to protect itself. In terms of predators, the only animal that could have hunted it was likely Smilodon. Recent finds from South America show that Smilodon, despite its seemingly fragile fangs, fossil finds show that it could have driven its skull into solid bone. Mainly because a fossil of a Smilodon was shown with a puncture mark atop the skull of a rival Smilodon. It’s not beyond belief to suggest Doedicurus was on the menu as well.

Another use of the club that has been put forth was combat. Mainly between rivals be it due to territorial disputes or mating rights. Indentations in various carapaces of Doedicurus back this theory up, suggesting these were blows delivered by rival Doedicurus as it looks like the carapace sections had buckled when they were struck.

Extinction:

Doedicurus was among the last of all Glyptodonts, persisting till around 7,000 years ago. The cause is largely believed to have been due to overhunting and climate change. A specimen dated to around 7,500 years ago shows signs of butchery done by stone tools. The southern pampas would have been the last refuge for these magnificent, armored giants. Being further south than other animals, this region would have been the last place in the New World where humans reached. Another victim of the Pleistocene extinction, all that remains are the fossils of this animal, and one can only wonder what this creature would have been like. Its monstrous bulk propelling it through the grasses of the Pleistocene Pampas.

While they may be extinct it is thanks to this animal that paleontologists have a better insight into these megafaunal armored herbivores that walked the South American grassland.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Bit of a surprise profile on this Monday, but I decided to redo an old profile that has been grading on me. Mainly because my acquaintance just redid the Doedicurus and I thought I'd show the new model and base I'd use for glyptodonts in the future. As a future note, most of the profiles I'm gonna do will be redone in the near future with better models and writing as the Doedicurus was done before I updated my writing style. Furthermore, I wanted to be more concise in terms of my facts and tell more information about this awesome herbivore.

Will this be in PMP? No, but, I am planning on rescuing a glyptodont for season 2 so look forward to that.

Doedicurus by DemonHunter:
Doedicurus (Demon Hunter) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom