''Scirrotherium'' 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 ...

pampathere Pampatheriidae ("Pampas beasts") is an extinct family of large plantigrade armored armadillos related to extant armadillos in the order Cingulata. However, pampatheriids have existed as a separate lineage since at least the middle Eocene Mus ...

s, a family of

herbivorous 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 ...

cingulate Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, is an order of armored New World placental mammals. Dasypodids and chlamyphorids, the armadillos, are the only surviving families in the order. Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant arm ...

s, related to the similar but smaller modern

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...

s, and with the now extinct

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 ...

s, well-known from their shell-like armor. Its scientific name is derived from the Greek prefix "''skiros-''", "cover", and the suffix "-''therion'', "beast", while the name of the type species, ''hondaensis'', honors the town of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

, in the Tolima Department of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

.G. Edmund and J. Theodor, 1997. A new giant pampatheriid armadillo. In: Kay RF, Madden RH, Cifelli RL, Flynn JJ, eds. Vertebrate paleontology in the Neotropics. The Miocene fauna of La Venta, Colombia, pp. 227–232. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press.Engelmann, G.F. ''Scirrotherium'' is one of several genera of

xenarthran Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and armadillos. Extin ...

s found in the La Venta fauna, dated from the Middle

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 ...

Description

''Scirrotherium'' is only known from an incomplete skull preserving teeth and a fragmentary mandible, as well as postcranial vertebrae and parts of its

osteoderm Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amp ...

armor. These remains were smaller than in its relative ''

Kraglievichia ''Kraglievichia'' is an extinct genus of cingulate belonging to the family Pampatheriidae. It lived from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America. Description This animal looked like ...

'', and larger than those of ''

Vassallia ''Vassallia'' is an extinct genus of cingulate belonging to the family Pampatheriidae. It lived between the Middle Oligocene and the Early Pliocene in what is now South America. Description This animal must have been very similar in shape a ...

''. ''Scirrotherium'' was characterized by its cylindrical molars, a bilobed eighth lower molar, and by the presence in the third thoracic vertebra of a disc-shaped surface, conjectured to have had a little mobility. In ''Scirrotherium hondaensis'', the mobile osteoderms presented in the sculpted area foramina aligned in two rows, with marked lateral edges, and a short, rounded and narrow axial elevation. The fixed osteoderms had fewer foramina arranged in the form of an arch with a posterior concavity and a narrower longitudinal central elevation, delimited by superficial longitudinal depressions.Góis, Flávio; Scillato-Yané, Gustavo Juan. Nueva especie de ''Scirrotherium'' (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Pampatheriidae) del "Conglomerado osífero" (Mioceno tardío), base de la Formación Ituzaingó, provincia de Entre Ríos, Argentina. X Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía-VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología. 2010 Pampathere osteoderms attributed to this genus, from the

Ituzaingó Formation The Ituzaingó Formation ( es, Formación Ituzaingó), in older literature also described as Entre Ríos or Entrerriana Formation, is an extensive geological formation of Late Miocene (Tortonian, or Huayquerian in the SALMA classification) age in ...

in the

Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east. Its capital is Paraná ( ...

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

Puerto Madryn Formation Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

in the

Valdes Peninsula The Valdes Peninsula (Spanish: ''Península Valdés'') is a peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean in the Biedma Department of north-east Chubut Province, Argentina. Around in size (not taking into account the isthmus of Carlos Ameghino which connects ...

in Argentine

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

and the

Solimões Formation The Pebas Formation is a lithostratigraphic unit of Miocene age, found in western Amazonia. The formation extends over , including parts of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.Wesselingh et al., 2006 It is interpreted as representing the deposits ...

in the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

State of Acre Acre () is a state located in the west of the North Region of Brazil and the Amazonia Legal. Located in the westernmost part of the country, at a two-hour time difference from Brasília, Acre is bordered clockwise by the Brazilian states of Am ...

, under the species ''S. carinatum'' have some anatomical differences with the type species, such as the anterior foramina of the mobile osteoderms arranged in a row and a longitudinal central elevation carinated.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9075197 Prehistoric cingulates Prehistoric placental genera Miocene xenarthrans Miocene genus first appearances Miocene mammals of South America Pliocene mammals of South America Pliocene xenarthrans Pliocene genus extinctions Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossils of Brazil Neogene Brazil Neogene Colombia Fossils of Colombia Honda Group, Colombia Ituzaingó Formation Fossil taxa described in 1997