Peltephilus

Peltephilus, the horned armadillo, is an extinct genus of armadillo xenarthran mammals that first inhabited Argentina during the Oligocene epoch, and became extinct in the Miocene epoch. Notably, the scutes on its head were so developed that they formed horns. Aside from the horned gophers of North America, it is the only known fossorial horned mammal.^[1] P. ferox had skull about 11.7 centimetres (4.6 in),^[2] and estimated body mass is around 11.07 kilograms (24.4 lb).^[3]

Peltephilus Temporal range: Oligocene-Mid Miocene (Deseadan-Mayoan) ~29.0–11.6 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Interpretation of P. ferox
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cingulata
Family:	†Peltephilidae
Genus:	†Peltephilus Ameghino 1887
Type species
†Peltephilus ferox Ameghino 1887
Species
P. depressus Ameghino 1897 P. ferox Ameghino 1891 (type) P. giganteus Ameghino 1894 P. granosus Ameghino 1902 P. protervus Ameghino 1897 P. pumilus Ameghino 1887 P. strepens Ameghino 1887 P. undulatus Ameghino 1897

Skull of P. ferox

The upper teeth on the anterior side of the skull were sharp, and they passed outside the lower teeth when the jaw was shut. The teeth of Peltephilus were covered in dentin. Visually, it looks as if Peltephilus had a full set of incisors, though they only bore one on each side, like modern armadillos.^[4]

Although it had traditionally been perceived as a carnivore because of its large, triangular-shaped teeth, Vizcaino and Fariña argued in 1997 that Peltephilus was a herbivore.^[5]

Taxonomy

The genus was originally classified as belonging to the family Chlamyphoridae, but in 2007 was placed in its own family Peltephilidae by Darin A. Croft, John J. Flynn and Andre Wyss.^[6]

Distribution

Fossils of Peltephilus have been found in:^[7]

Deseadan

• Argentina – Sarmiento Formation
• Bolivia – Salla Formation^[8]

Miocene

• Argentina – Colloncuran Collón Curá Formation and Santacrucian Santa Cruz Formation^[9]
• Bolivia – Colloncuran Nazareno Formation
• Chile – Santacrucian Chucal Formation^[6]