''Trachycalyptus'' 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 ...

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 ...

. It lived during the Early

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58South 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 southe ...

Description

Like all glyptodonts, ''Trachycalyptus'' had a heavy body protected by a sturdy armor composed of osteoderms fused together. It had wrinkled and strongly punctuated osteoderms ; the central figure was mainly distinguished by a lower density of small holes on its surface. The absence of radial groove allows to distinguish it from other genera of glyptodonts. The tail was protected by a caudal tube, characterized by the presence of wrinkled osteoderms with numerous vascular perforations, without differentiation of the peripheral area. There were three pairs of large lateral osteoderms on the tail.

Classification

The genus ''Trachycalyptus'' was first described in 1908 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, especially ...

, based on fossil remains found in Pliocene terrains of

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 type species is ''Trachycalyptus chapadmalensis''. A Late Miocene species, ''Trachycalyptus cingulatus'', initially ascribed by

to another genus, was later tentatively attributed to this genus, although this attribution is still contested. It was similar to '' Trachycalyptoides'', from the Late Miocene of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. ''Trachycalyptus'' was a member of the glyptodont Sclerocalyptini ; it was originally considered closely related to the genus '' Urotherium''; however, it was recently placed closer to the genera '' Lomaphorus'' and '' Neosclerocalyptus''.

Bibliography

*Cruz, L. E. and Fernicola, J. C. 2010. Las especies del género Trachycalyptus Ameghino (Glyptodontia): consideraciones taxonómicas. Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados; 2010. {{Taxonbar, from=Q60978013 Prehistoric cingulates Prehistoric placental genera Pliocene xenarthrans Pliocene mammals of South America Pliocene genus extinctions Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1908 Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino