Scirrotherium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scirrotherium | |
|---|---|
| Life reconstruction of Scirrotherium | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cingulata |
| Family: | †Pampatheriidae |
| Genus: | †Scirrotherium Edmund & Theodor, 1997 |
| Type species | |
| †Scirrotherium hondaensis Edmund & Theodor, 1997 | |
| Species | |
| |
Scirrotherium is an extinct genus of pampatheres, a family of herbivorous cingulates, related to the similar but smaller modern armadillos, and with the now extinct glyptodonts, well-known from their shell-like armor. Its scientific name is derived from the Greek prefix "skiros-", "cover", and the suffix "-therion, "beast", while the name of the type species, hondaensis, honors the town of Honda, in the Tolima Department of Colombia.[1] Scirrotherium is one of several genera of xenarthrans found in the La Venta fauna, dated from the Middle Miocene.