Talk:Glyptodon

Geographic range

Anyone know exactly where Glytodons lived??? I'm doing a science project on them.

According to McKenna and Bell (1997), the genus itself was restricted to South America. The family was also found in North America. The geographic description in the article is actually in reference to the family or subfamily (Glyptotherium was found in North America). --Aranae 01:45, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Charles Darwin & Glyptodon

Charles Darwin discovered a fossil of some species of Glyptodon in South America in the 1830s. Was he the first naturalist to find such a beast? It seems likely that locals had been finding fossils of them before but disregarded them.

MrG -- 4 Nov 06

That could be true, as is with the case of the chinese and european dragon, as well as the Australian Bunyip. But debate is still going and a search of text and any other material related to that timeframe is advised. Enlil Ninlil 02:09, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Classification Conflict - Compare Armadillo Article

This article:

"Glyptodons are part of the placental group of mammals known as Xenarthra. This order of mammals includes anteaters, tree sloths, extinct ground sloths, and armadillos."

Armadillo article:

"Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata. Until as recently as 1995, the family was placed in the order Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. There are several species of Armadillo, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor."

The chart in the Armadillo article lists Glyptodons as "Order Cingulata, Family Glyptodontidae (extinct)". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.7.28.88 (talk) 05:43, 25 December 2006 (UTC).

Expert attention

This article is presently a badly-sourced mix of information regarding the genus Glyptodon (where's the species list?) and the family Glyptodontidae. Apparently someone thought that there was only one genus in the family; I have corrected this on the Armadillo page. Dysmorodrepanis 10:54, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

• This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject - I thought all Wikipedia editors were equal, just that some quoted reliable sources and others didn't.... All hail wikipedia. [Ooops Wiki-is-truth (talk) 15:23, 12 December 2007 (UTC)]

Dubious statement

"Predators of the Glyptodon could have included the sabre-toothed cat, although this predator would likely have struggled to turn the 1 to 2-ton animal over to reach its unprotected belly." I find this extremely dubious because cats generally (both extant and extinct) dont seem to target prey unless it is considerably smaller or more managable than themselves. As oppourtunists cats will usually only target a creature if they are sure they have a good chance of sucess with little prospect of harming themselves. Glyptodon is an incredibly large armoured creature though and those bones on its tail and head appear to be defensive. I seriously doubt if even a desperate, starving sabre tooth would ever have seriously considered taking on such a large mammal so far out of its weight class, especially given the cats inability to obtain much or any of the meat a dead glyptodon had to offer. Move for removal of the comments, as I expect most would agree the biggest threat to a glyptodon was probably other glyptodon. WikipedianProlific^(Talk) 12:50, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Glyptodon was probably a difficult target, but the articles on the sabre-toothed cats indicate that they were adapted specifically for preying on megafauna, and are therefore an exception to the general rules on relative prey size. --68.222.26.206 (talk) 14:22, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

The unsigned user, above, makes a compelling point, but I have to back up WikipedianProlific on this one. Unless there is specific evidence for or against the notion that sabre-toothed cats preyed on the Glyptodon, then anything we say about this relationship is speculation. I notice that the statement in question has already been removed. I think we should leave it that way unless someone can come up with a source to support the notion of a predator/prey realtionship. —Preceding unsigned comment added by CKA3KA (talk • contribs) 00:28, 7 May 2008 (UTC) (Oops! Forgot to sign.) —CKA3KA (Skazka) (talk) 00:31, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Possibly obvious question

How did it mate? -- AnonMoos (talk) 00:16, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Like this[1], probably. FunkMonk (talk) 00:18, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

New One Found

Recently, an Argentine farmer found a nearly complete shell dated at roughly 10,000 years old. Daily Mail article. Not sure if this discovery adds value to the article, but an interested editor may want to follow up on the story. --Eliyahu S ^Talk 05:27, 11 August 2017 (UTC)

Interesting story, but so far we don't know the species. WolfmanSF (talk) 07:23, 11 August 2017 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Glyptodon/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: PrimalMustelid (talk · contribs) 00:04, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

It was originally mentioned by someone that they'd try to review the article for GAN, but since nobody's reserved this for more than a week, I'll be the reviewer of this article. More to come soon. PrimalMustelid (talk) 00:04, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

Okay, thank you again Primal! AFH (talk) 21:49, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Oh yeah, that was me, I'll wait until FAC review then, which it will need anyway. FunkMonk (talk) 22:53, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Part 1 of the GA Review:

Lead Section:

• "Glyptodon (from Greek for "grooved or carved tooth": γλυπτός "sculptured" and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς "tooth") is a genus of glyptodont (an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos) that lived from the Pliocene, around 3.2 million years ago, to the early Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia."
  • Similar to Glyptotherium, I recommend that you specify the family that it belongs to in the first sentence. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Done
• "It is one of, if not the, best known genus of glyptodont. Glyptodon has a long and storied past, being the first named extinct cingulate and the type genus of the glyptodonts."
  • When referring to what the type genus/species belongs to, the taxonomic name should be used, not the simplified taxonomic term ("Glyptodontinae"). PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Done
• "The armor could have protected the animal from predators, of which many coexisted with Glyptodon, including the "saber-tooth cat" Smilodon, the large dog relative Protocyon, and the giant bear Arctotherium."
  • "Dog relative" is an awkward term to use, they're commonly just called canines or canids. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Done

History:

• Shouldn't the "History" section be named "Taxonomy" and the "Taxonomy" section be a subsection of the first section in addition to being named either "Classification" or "Evolution?" That's pretty much how Cenozoic fossil taxon formats go. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

  I was suggested to make this section separate in the peer review AFH (talk) 04:08, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

• "Larrañaga identified the fossils as those of Dasypus (Megatherium), believing that Megatherium was a subgenus of Dasypus based on the incorrect referral of glyptodont osteoderms to Megatherium years earlier by Spanish scientist Juan Bautista Bru de Ramón, which misled other scientists to believe that glyptodont fossils were actually those of armored megatheres."
  • From what I'm understanding, de Ramón's earlier misinterpretation caused other scientists to believe that glyptodont fossils were of armored megatheres. I think the subject of the sentence that the last predicate focuses on should be made clearer. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
• "Within this book, Owen erroneously believed they were all from the same individual, the name Glyptodon ("grooved tooth") based on the anatomy of the molariform."
  • By individual, you mean an individual Glyptodon specimen or the individual genus? PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

  done AFH (talk) 04:09, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

• "Later study found the molariform to actually be from another glyptodont, Panochthus, and the Villanueva individual was designated the lectotype by Robert Hoffstetter in 1955."
  • Add "A" before "later study". PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

  Done AFH (talk) 04:10, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

• The word reassessment in the subsection title "Reassesment and Glyptotherium" is spelled incorrectly. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

  Done AFH (talk) 04:10, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Taxonomy:

• "Glyptodon is the type genus and namesake of Glyptodontinae, an extinct subfamily of large, heavily armored armadillos that first evolved in the Late Eocene (ca. 33.5 mya) and went extinct in the Early Holocene during the Quaternary extinction event (ca. 7,000 years ago)."
  • "Type genus" and "namesake" are redundant since the type genus will almost always be what the family/subfamily will be named after, keep only the former. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Also again, the "Quaternary extinction event" isn't really an accurate term since the extinction waves vary by continent (pretty much a common misconception to define the Eocene-Oligocene and Pleistocene-Holocene extinctions as global extinction events), I would use "late Pleistocene extinctions." PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
• A major issue I'm seeing is that the Wikipedia article is almost always using the term "glyptodont" instead of "glyptodontine," which would make sense if the Wikipedia article itself recognizes them as a distinct family, but they are currently recognized as a subfamily of Chlamyphoridae by at least a lot of paleontologists. I think the two terms should at least be split in usage. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

Once you address the first issues, I will continue to all the other sections. PrimalMustelid (talk) 15:53, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

All recommendations implemented except for the first point in the History category. AFH (talk) 04:15, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Part 2 of the GA Review:

Lead Section:

• "Glyptodon (from Greek for "grooved or carved tooth": γλυπτός "sculptured" and ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς "tooth")[1] is a genus of glyptodontine(an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos)..."
  • Put a space between "glyptodontine" and the opening parenthesis. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Description:

• "Teeth resembled those of an armadillo, but were fluted on each side by deep grooves."
  • Since it's a cinungulate, the first half of the sentence is pretty obvious that it'd resemble those of other armadillos. I think what you meant to say is "The dentition is typical of other armadillos..." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "Many skulls are known from Pleistocene glyptodontines, allowing comparisons to be made with that of Glyptodon."
  • Not entirely sure if this sentence is necessary since complete skulls of Glyptodon is known. I think it needs a reword to something along the lines of "Other Pleistocene glyptodontines are known by complete/sub-complete skulls, allowing for comparisons to Glyptodon." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "Glyptodon has 7 cervical vertebrae, the first 3 cervicals were fused together while the rest of the cervicals were free except for the 7th."
  • Add "of which" between "cervicals" and "were." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "The osteoderms of the caudal aperture ((arge conical osteoderms that protect the base of the tail) are more conical in Glyptodon and more rounded in Glyptotherium, though in the latter the anatomy of the caudal aperture osteoderms varies by sex while in Glyptodon it varies by age."
  • Remove the duplicate opening parenthesis and correct the misspelling of "large." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Paleobiology:

• "Endocranial anatomy" should be in the description section due to being more anatomical as a section. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "The propalaehoplophorids were selective feeders, while the post-Miocene glyptodontines were bulk feeders."
  • Try to briefly address what bulk feeding is, not everyone reading this necessarily knows biological-ecological terms. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "The stomachs of glyptodontids are mysterious, as modern armadillos are entirely omnivorous and have simple stomachs instead of the chambered ones of sloths."
  • Mysterious because the glyptodontines are herbivorous as opposed to omnivorous armadillos? PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

  Yes AFH (talk) 01:04, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

• "Several interpretations of glyptodontineposture have been made, starting with those by Richard Owen in 1841 using comparative anatomy."
  • Place a space between "glyptodontine" and "posture." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "No direct evidence of glyptodontinegroup behavior has been described, though some localities preserving juveniles, subadults, and adults of Glyptotherium together are known."
  • Same thing as above, put a space between "glyptodontine" and "group." The lack of spacing between the word "glyptodontine" and other words including in other sections seems to be a repeating problem, so make sure to correct those issues. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

About the endocranial anatomy section, much of it talks about the intelligence of Glyptodon so I included it in the Paleobiology section. AFH (talk) 01:00, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

Distribution and paleoecology:

• Try discussing more about the grassland and savanna environments that Glyptodon would've lived in. According to this one source that I'd recommend looking at, they best thrived under cold and arid/semi-arid environments with some hot and humid seasons. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• I know that most people would probably care more about the late Pleistocene fauna that coexisted with it, but I don't think it'd hurt to mention a few taxa exclusive to the early-middle Pleistocene either since Glyptodon spans virtually the entire Pleistocene epoch. (Mesotherium, Theriodictis as suggested by the same earlier source). PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "Glyptodon's northernmost locality comes from Pleistocene deposits o in central Colombia, though many specimens formerly attributed to the genus come from the bordering country of Venezuela."
  • Remove the random "o" in the sentence. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Extinction:

• This overlap provides support for models showing the South American Pleistocene extinctions resulted from a combination of climatic change and anthropogenic causes.
  • Add "that" between "showing" and "the." PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• I would add estimated dates of when humans dispersed into South America, as conflictingly inconsistent as the dates are, maybe discuss population dynamics around the late Pleistocene-early Holocene resulting from short-term climatic events. According to these recent sources (1, 2), they likely arrived around 16,000 years BP, although population dynamics were different by region. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
• "Around 11.5 ka, temperatures peaked before again dropping, resulting in the extinction of several different genera of mammals including some megafauna."
  • You'll have to be more specific regarding how climatic events changed environments of the late Pleistocene-early Holocene. If you need help, I refer you to these three sources: (1, 2, 3).
    • Basically, South America experienced very rapid climate cycles switching between humid and dry cycles. Eventually, in the Pampas region of South America, there was an apparent increase in C4 grasses or Nothofagus forests to generally replace C3-dominated grasslands as a result of the eventual transition to warm and humid climates after the Antarctic Cold Reversal. Because almost none of the known megafauna were ecosystem engineers (the extinction of Notiomastodon did not result in changes in vegetation) and were almost exclusively grassland inhabitants, they were vulnerable to the changes in vegetation, which likely played a role in their extinctions according to these sources. PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Sorry for the long delay in the review, I've found only a few major issues but they shouldn't be too hard to tackle. This article should be on track to Good Article status once these changes are addressed! PrimalMustelid (talk) 04:54, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

Suggestions implemented, thank you! AFH (talk) 01:42, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

And the article's promoted to GA status, congratulations! PrimalMustelid (talk) 02:13, 16 July 2023 (UTC)