''Eucinepeltus'' (also often called, historically, ''Encinepeltus'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Glyptodont Glyptodonts are an extinct subfamily of large, heavily armoured armadillos. They arose in South America around 48 million years ago and spread to southern North America after the continents became connected several million years ago. The best-kn ...

. It lived during the Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, and its fossilized remains were discovered in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Description

Like all glyptodonts, this genus was characterized by its dorsal armor composed of numerous osteoderms fused together. ''Eucinepeltus'' was larger than other basal glyptodonts such as ''

Propalaehoplophorus ''Propalaehoplophorus'', also written as ''Propalaeohoplophorus'', is an extinct genus of glyptodont, which lived in South America during the Early Miocene epoch. Description This animal was to be very similar to the subsequent glyptodonts of ...

'', with a skull reaching 20 centimeters in length, and wider than most of its relative species. The cephalic shield was composed of 11-15 large welded bony plates, presenting a central convexity often perforated. The skull was depressed and presented a rather elongated muzzle. The dental characteristics of ''Eucinepeltus'' includes lower molars increasing in size from the first to the fifth molar ; a first and second lower molars elliptical, convex in the internal side and with a large notch and a corresponding perpendicular groove in the back ; bilobed third and fourth lower molars, with an anterior internal lobe much smaller than the following one ; the remaining molars were trilobed.

Classification

The genus ''Eucinepeltus'' was first described in 1891 by

Florentino Ameghino Florentino Ameghino (born Giovanni Battista Fiorino Giuseppe Ameghino September 19, 1853 – August 6, 1911) was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist, whose fossil discoveries on the Argentine Pampas, especially ...

, based on fossilized remains found in Early Miocene terrains from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The type species is ''Eucinepeltus petesatus'', and the later described species ''E. complicatus'' may belong to the genus, although its real affinities are unclear. ''Eucinepeltus'' is the largest genus belonging to the Propalaehoplophorini, a tribe of basal glyptodonts, typical of the Early Miocene, and also including the genera ''

'', ''

Parapropalaehoplophorus ''Parapropalaehoplophorus septentrionalis'' was a comparatively small (compared to ''Glyptodon'') species of glyptodont, extinct relatives of the modern armadillo. The mammal, identified in 2007 from the fossilized remains of a specimen found in 2 ...

'' and '' Asterostemma''.

Bibliography

*F. Ameghino. 1891. Nuevos restos de mamíferos fósiles descubiertos por Carlos Ameghino en el Eoceno inferior de la Patagonia austral. – Especies nuevas, adiciones y correcciones ew remains of fossil mammals discovered by Carlos Ameghino in the lower Eocene of southern Patagonia. – New species, additions, and corrections Revista Argentina de Historia Natural 1:289-328 *F. Ameghino. 1894. Enumeration synoptique des especes de mammifères fossiles des formations éocènes de Patagonie. Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Cordoba (Republica Argentina) 13:259-452 *S. F. Vizcaíno, J. C. Fernicola, and M. S. Bargo. 2012. Paleobiology of Santacrucian glyptodonts and armadillos (Xenarthra, Cingulata). In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 194-215 {{Taxonbar, from=Q110588834 Armadillos Prehistoric placental genera Prehistoric cingulates Miocene xenarthrans Miocene genus first appearances Miocene genus extinctions Miocene mammals of South America Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Neogene Chile Fossils of Chile Fossil taxa described in 1891