Doedicurusis an extinct armored plant-eating armadillo. Its heavy bony armor and spiked tail club helped protect it from sabre-toothed predators and other hunters. It was part of the South American Pleistocene megafauna 1.8 million to 11,000 thousand years ago.

• Scientific Name:Doedicurus clavicaudatus
• Characteristics:Doedicuruswas built like a small tank with a spectacular domed shell. It also had a distinctive tail with an armored tube, and a dangerous spiked club on the end. It waddled around on four short legs with powerful blunt claws. Its relatively small skull was short and deep with a blunt face. At 13 feet long it was the largest of its kind.
• Size and Color:This model is 4.25 inches long and 1.75 inches high. It is a dusty beige color with a striking metallic sheen on its armor.
• All of our products are Non-toxic and BPA free.

History

Doedicuruswas first described by Richard Owen in 1847 based on part of a tail. Owen originally gave it the nameGlyptodon clavicaudatus, the species name meaning club-tailed. However, nearly three decades later in 1874, Burmeister reclassified the species and gave it a new genus,Doedicurus. This name means pestle tail and refers to the similarity of the shape of the tail to the grinding tool of a pestle and mortar.

Doedicuruswas the largest of a diverse array of large glyptodonts – extinct relatives of modern armadillos. Remains ofDoedicurushave been found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. It lived relatively recently during the Pleistocene, beginning around 1.8 million years ago, and went extinct just 11 thousand years ago. This means that the first human settlers to South America probably encounteredDoedicurusand maybe even hunted it for meat.

• Recommended Age: 3+
• Size in cm: 10.75 L x
• Size in inches: 4.23 L x
• UPC: 095866000226