Cylindrical Glyptodont
Glyptotherium cylindricum
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Chordata
Mammalia
Cingulata
Chlamyphoridae
Glyptodontidae
Glyptotherium cylindricum
Glyptotherium cylindricum, the Armored Giant of the Pleistocene Americas, was a heavily shielded herbivore resembling a walking fortress. Covered in a mosaic of bony plates, it lumbered across the grasslands and river valleys of what is now Texas and Mexico, a relic of the ancient glyptodont lineage from South America.
Description
Glyptotherium cylindricum was about 2.5 meters long and stood roughly 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder. Its most striking feature was its domed carapace — a rigid shell made of fused osteoderms (bony scutes) — and a short, armored tail. Unlike its South American relatives, it lived farther north, adapting to cooler, drier grasslands. It likely grazed on coarse vegetation, using its simple, ridged teeth to grind tough grasses.
Closely related to the better-known Doedicurus of South America, Glyptotherium represents the northern expansion of the glyptodonts during the Great American Biotic Interchange. Fossil remains show a thick, cylindrical shell pattern — the origin of its species name, cylindricum.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
1000
1.4
2.1
3
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Root/Tuber Feeders
Hunt History
Early human settlers in North America likely encountered and occasionally hunted Glyptotherium cylindricum. Archaeological associations of glyptodont bones with Paleoindian artifacts suggest butchering for meat and possibly use of the shells as shelters or windbreaks. The species’ slow movement and predictable watering habits made it an easy target, but climate warming at the end of the Pleistocene may have been the final blow.
Archaeological Evidence:
Santa Isabel Iztapan, Mexico — glyptodont remains found with stone tools and butcher marks (~12,000 BP).
Blanco Formation, Texas — abundant fossil material indicating regional dominance during the Late Pleistocene.
El Golfo, Sonora — partial shell and skull fragments dated to roughly 11,000 years ago, marking the species’ northernmost extent.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
12000
BP
Late Pleistocene
South America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Low
Fat %
4
Est. Renderable Fat
40
kg
Targeted Organs
Tail-base fat, limb pockets
Adipose Depots
Tail-base pad, limb pockets; limited subcutaneous
Preferred Cuts
Tail-base depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
4