''Coscinocercus'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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-k ...

. It lived during the Late

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 recent" ...

, and its fossilized remains were discovered in

South America 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 souther ...

Description

This animal, like all glyptodonts, had a carapace formed by numerous

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 (extinc ...

s fused together, protecting most of its body. Osteoderms from the dorsal carapace and the mobile rings of the tail show very numerous peripheral figures, among which were large perforations. The caudal tube was robust and its central figures were often separated by two rows of flat polygonal figures, with numerous perforations occupying the junction points of the furrows. Its appearance was probably quite similar to '' Plohophorus''.

Classification

The genus ''Coscinocercus'' was first described in 1939 by Cabrera, based on fossil remains found in the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

pampa The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

, in Late

terrains. Two species were attributed to this genus, ''Coscinocercus marcalaini'' and ''C. brachyurus'', mainly distinguished by specificities of the carapace, that might only be intraspecific variations. ''Coscinocercus'' was a member of the tribe Hoplophorini, a clade of glyptodonts. It was related to the genera '' Plohophorus'' and '' Phlyctaenopyga''. Some evidences tends to suggest that it was synonymous with another Late Miocene genus, '' Pseudoplohophorus''

Bibliography

*Cabrera, A. 1939
Sobre vertebrados fósiles del Plioceno de Adolfo Alsina
Revista del Museo de La Plata 2: 3–35. *Zetti, J. 1972. os Mamíferos fósiles de edad Huayqueriense (Plioceno Medio) de la Región Pampeana. Tesis Doctoral. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y*Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, 86 p. {{Taxonbar, from=Q60978710 Prehistoric cingulates Prehistoric placental genera Miocene xenarthrans Miocene first appearances Miocene mammals of South America Miocene extinctions Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1939