Florida Glyptodont
Glyptotherium floridanum
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Chordata
Mammalia
Cingulata
Chlamyphoridae
Glyptodontinae
Glyptotherium floridanum
Glyptotherium floridanum, the Florida Glyptodont, was a heavily armored herbivore that roamed the warm savannas and wetlands of Pleistocene North America. It was the eastern cousin of the more widespread Glyptotherium cylindricum, a creature built like a prehistoric tank with a domed shell of bone and a lumbering gait suited to open landscapes.
Description
This glyptodont reached about 2.5 meters in length and stood roughly 1.2 meters tall. Its shell was a rigid mosaic of hexagonal osteoderms, forming an unyielding carapace fused to the pelvis and shoulders. The tail was short and partially armored, though not ending in a mace as in some South American species. The head was small and tucked low beneath the shell’s forward edge, with a blunt snout and no visible external ears.
Glyptotherium floridanum likely grazed on coarse vegetation — grasses, sedges, and low shrubs — along the Pleistocene river systems of Florida and the Gulf Coastal Plain. Its morphology suggests a slow-moving grazer, vulnerable only to large predators and early human hunters.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
800
1.4
2.1
3
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Omnivores – Balanced
Hunt History
Paleoindians arriving in the southeastern United States would have encountered Glyptotherium floridanum along with mammoths, mastodons, and ground sloths. The animal’s slow pace and predictable habits made it a potential source of meat and shelter. Some archaeological sites in Florida have yielded glyptodont remains associated with stone tools, implying butchery or scavenging. Its thick carapace might also have been used by humans as a natural hut or protective barrier — a literal “living shield” repurposed after death.
Archaeological Evidence:
Vero Beach, Florida — glyptodont remains found with Paleoindian artifacts (~12,000 years ago).
Ichetucknee River, Florida — isolated osteoderms recovered from river deposits suggest persistence in warm, humid regions late into the Pleistocene.
Suwannee River Basin, Florida — fossils of G. floridanum alongside human and megafaunal remains, marking one of the latest occurrences of glyptodonts in North America.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
North America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
40
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral/subcutaneous (general)
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
4