Southern Pampathere
Pampatherium typum
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Chordata
Mammalia
Cingulata
Chlamyphoridae
Pampatheriidae
Pampatherium typum
The Southern Pampathere, Pampatherium typum, was a heavily armored, grazing giant of South America’s Ice Age grasslands. A close relative of armadillos, it bore a broad, domed shell and massive digging claws, roaming the pampas and savannas alongside ground sloths and glyptodonts.
Description
Very large armadillo (Pampatherium typum) — herbivores – root/tuber feeders, from South America; up to ~210 kg, ~2.5 m long. fatness level low, fatty tissues often targeted: Tail-base fat, limb pockets
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
210
1.2
1.8
2.5
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Root/Tuber Feeders
Hunt History
Early human populations likely hunted Pampatherium typum for meat and its tough, shell-like armor plates. Archaeological findings suggest butchery marks on osteoderms and bones. The animal’s slow pace and large size made it vulnerable to organized hunting or ambush, and the combined pressures of human predation and climate shifts at the end of the Ice Age likely led to its extinction.
Archaeological Evidence:
Luján Formation, Argentina (~11,000 years ago): Fossils with cut marks found near Paleo-Indian stone tools.
Arroyo del Vizcaíno, Uruguay (~12,000 years ago): Remains of Pampatherium typum associated with human artifacts and burned bone fragments.
São Raimundo Nonato, Brazil (~10,500 years ago): Cave deposits showing Pampatherium remains and evidence of human habitation.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
South America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Low
Fat %
4
Est. Renderable Fat
8.4
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)
3