''Holmesina'' is a genus of pampathere, an extinct group of armadillo-like creatures that were distantly related to extant armadillos. Like armadillos, and unlike the other extinct branch of megafaunal cingulates, the

glyptodonts 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-k ...

, the shell was made up of flexible plates which allowed the animal to move more easily. ''Holmesina'' species were

herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

that grazed on coarse vegetation; armadillos are mostly insectivorous or

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

Holmesina floridanus life reconstruction

''Holmesina'' individuals were much larger than any modern armadillo: They could reach a length of , and a weight of , while the modern giant armadillo does not attain more than .

Distribution

They traveled north during the faunal interchange, and adapted well to North America, like the ground sloths, glyptodonts, armadillos, capybaras, and other

South American 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 ...

immigrants. Their fossils are found from Brazil to the United States, mostly in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

References

* J. C. Cisneros. 2005. New Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from El Salvador. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 8(3):239-255 * P. J. Gaudioso, G. M. Gasparini, and R. M. Barquez. 2016. Paleofauna del Pleistoceno de Termas de Rio Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Ameghiniana 53(6):54-54 * J. I. Mead, S. L. Swift, R. S. White, H. G. McDonald, and A. Baez. 2007. Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) glyptodont and pampathere (Xenarthra, Cingulata) from Sonora, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 24(3):439-449 {{Taxonbar, from=Q140865 Prehistoric cingulates Pleistocene xenarthrans Prehistoric placental genera Pleistocene mammals of North America Blancan Rancholabrean Pleistocene Costa Rica Fossils of Costa Rica Pleistocene El Salvador Fossils of El Salvador Pleistocene Mexico Fossils of Mexico Pleistocene United States Pleistocene mammals of South America Lujanian Ensenadan Uquian Pleistocene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Pleistocene Brazil Fossils of Brazil Pleistocene Ecuador Fossils of Ecuador Pleistocene Peru Fossils of Peru Pleistocene Venezuela Fossils of Venezuela Fossil taxa described in 1930 Taxa named by George Gaylord Simpson

Distribution

References

Further reading