''Epipeltephilus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

, belonging to the family

Peltephilidae Peltephilidae (meaning "armor-liking") is a Family (biology), family of South America, South American Cingulata, cingulates (armadillos) that lived for over 40 million years, but peaked in diversity towards the end of the Oligocene and beginning ...

, the "horned armadillos", whose most famous relative was ''

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 ...

''. ''Epipeltephilus'' is the last known member of its family, becoming extinct during the

Chasicoan The Chasicoan ( or ) age is a period of geologic time from 10–9 Ma within the Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Mayoan and precedes the Huayquerian age.

period. It was found in the Rio Mayo Formation and the

Arroyo Chasicó Formation Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (watercourse), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: Places United States * Arroyo, Pennsylvania * Arroyo, Puerto Rico, a municipality * Arroyo, West Virginia Spain * Arroyo (Santillana del Mar), ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

History and Etymology

''Epipeltephilus'' was originally described in 1904 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, especial ...

, its holotype being MACN A 11641, which included remains of the occipital and frontal areas of the skull, and fragments of the right mandible preserving five molariformes, coming from the

Mayoan The Mayoan () age is a period of geologic time from 11.8 to 10 Ma, within the Middle to Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Laventan and precedes the Chasico ...

Rio Mayo Formation. In 1915, remains from the

are recovered, and they were first mentioned in literature in 1931. In 2012, Gonzalez-Ruiz, Scillato-Yané, Krmpotic and Carlini described the second species, E. kanti, with MLP 92-XI-19-7, three osteoderms, as holotype, with other osteoderms and a single molariform as among the remaining material associated to the species, all coming from the Arroyo Chasicó Formation. Finally, in 2016, a new species, ''E. caraguensis'', is described from remains coming from Northern

by Montoya-Sanhuez, Moreno, Bobe, Carrano, García and Corgne, with, as holotype, SGO-PV 21102, composed of four osteoderms and fragmentary cranial and postcranial remains. ''Epipeltephilus'' means, in Latin, "above ''Peltephilus''".

Description

''Epipeltephiluss skull was larger than ''Peltephilus'', and lower and wider in its posterior area, and its temporals were more extended laterally. The sagittal and occipital crests were less visible on ''Epipeltephilus'', and its mandibles were larger, with vertically implanted, sub-elliptical molariforms, the last one being of similar size with the others, in opposition to several of its relatives. Like its relatives, it had the typical "horn"

osteoderms Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates, or other structures based in the dermis. Osteoderms are found in many groups of Extant taxon, extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, Temnospondyli, ...

Species

''Epipeltephilus recurvus''

''E. recurvus'' is the type species, described in 1904 by Ameghino. It is only known from remains coming from the

Mayo Formation Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, a sauce * County Mayo, in the west of Ireland * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States * Mayo (surname), includes a list of people with the name Mayo may also refer to: Places ...

-aged rocks. While its holotype is only composed of the remains of a skull, several peltephilid osteoderms from the locality are commonly associated with the genus.

''Epipeltephilus kanti''

''E. kanti'' is the last known member of the genus ''Epipeltephilus'', and of the peltephilids as a whole. It is known from

remains found in the

. The longitudinal crests of the quadrangular osteoderms were higher and more developed than in ''E. recurvus'', and their exposed surface was rougher and more similar to those of ''Peltephilus'' and ''Peltecoelus''. The teeth were subtriangular. The species was named in honour of the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

''Epipeltephilus caraguensis''

''E. caraguensis'' was found in

period rocks from the Chilean

Precordillera Precordillera is a Spanish geographical term for hills and mountains lying before a greater range, similar to foothills. The term is derived from ''cordillera'' (mountain range)—literally "pre-mountain range"—and applied usually to the Andes. ...

. Its osteoderms were larger and very different from all other horned armadillos, with a tubular, rough and raised anterior edge. The name "caraguensis" means "from Caragua", the locality near the town of

Putre Putre is a Chilean town and commune, capital of the Parinacota Province in the Arica-Parinacota Region. It is located east of Arica, at an altitude of . The town is backdropped by Taapaca volcanic complex. Putre is on the edge of the Lauc ...

where the remains of the species were extracted.

Palaeoecology

While originally recovered as

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

armadillos, peltephilids are now considered to be more generalist, able to dig to find tough

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

, but also eating potentially

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

. Finally, in 2016, a new species, ''E. caraguensis'', is described from remains coming from Northern

by Montoya-Sanhuez, Moreno, Bobe, Carrano, García and Corgne, with, as holotype, SGO-PV 21102, composed of four osteoderms and fragmentary cranial and postcranial remains. They were probably

burrow file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal lo ...

ers. While on the edge of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

during the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), 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 mea ...

, they were still widely distributed, known from

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

to the Central

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21334498 Prehistoric placental genera Prehistoric cingulates Miocene xenarthrans Miocene genus extinctions Miocene genus first appearances Miocene mammals of South America Mayoan Chasicoan Colloncuran Friasian Laventan Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossils of Bolivia Neogene Chile Fossils of Chile Fossil taxa described in 1904 Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino