Glyptodon

Extinct Florida Glyptodon

One of the most unusual animals living during the Pleistocene was the Gyptodon, a large, armored mammal of the family Glyptodontidae and a relative of armadillos. About the same size and weight as a Volkswagen Bug, it had a rounded, bony shell and squat limbs. It’s shell was made up of over 1000 interlocking bones called scutes. It  is believed that Glyptodon grazed on grasses and other plants found near rivers and streams.

This osteoderm or “scute” was found in  a Pleistocene fossil site at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.