Urotherium
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| Urotherium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cingulata |
| Family: | Chlamyphoridae |
| Subfamily: | †Glyptodontinae |
| Genus: | †Urotherium Castellanos, 1926 |
| Type species | |
| Urotherium simplex Castellanos, 1926 | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Urotherium is a dubious[1] extinct genus of Glyptodont. It lived from the Late Miocene to the Late Pliocene, and its fossilized remains were found in South America.
This animal, like all glyptodonts, had a strong dorsal armor composed of numerous osteoderms fused together. The genus was characterized by an almost cylindrical caudal tube, obtuse and covered of small and raised osteoderms separated by wide and deep furrows. A pair of lateral osteoderms was preceded by other poorly differentiated osteoderms. The osteoderms of the carapace resembled those of the genus Trachycalyptus, remarkably wrinkled and strongly punctuated, with a barely distinct central figure, less dotted than the peripheral area. Compared to Trachycalyptus, the osteoderms of Urotherium were thicker and more rounded. In the species Urotherium simile, the osteoderms had lost their sutures and resembled those of Glyptodon.
