Doedicurus
 The giant glyptodonts rival their relatives, the giant ground
sloths, for the title of 'most impressive beast of South America'.
Although
they are related to modern armadillos (as well as the sloths
and anteaters), they grew to the size of a small car.
Like the ground sloth, glyptodonts became extinct only thousands
of years ago, so their remains are still very well preserved.
Their great carapaces were probably originally like those of
modern armadillos rather than tortoises, made up of many tiny
plates called scutes. The carapace would have been more flexible
around the edges, where the scutes were laid down in regular
lines, and not fused together.
Doedicurus' tail is its most impressive feature. It is solid
bone, and at the end are round scars that show where the horny
spikes were positioned.
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