Eutatus seguini

Overview

Eutatus seguini is a fossil mammal studied from armor plates, internal skeletal material, and limbs. Studies have also compared its limbs with living armadillos. Different features can be found in the hard body covering and the bones within.^[1][2]

Key facts

A limb study compared Eutatus seguini with three living armadillo species. It explored form and function by placing the same body regions side by side.^[2]

Time and place

Recorded fossil-bearing layers are summarized as material spanning the Miocene to Pleistocene, approximately 8 million to 12,000 years ago. Several studies of armor plates, the endoskeleton, and limbs provide clues to this animal.^[1][3]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

Species- and genus-level material includes comparisons of internal skeletons, armor plates, and limbs. Distinct hair pores on the rear of armor plates are also described. Hard plates and internal bones can be examined at different scales.^[1][2]

A 2003 limb study estimated an average body mass of about 50 kg for Eutatus seguini. This value combines estimates obtained by applying living armadillo body proportions to the lengths and widths of several limb bones.^[4]

Habitat and reproduction

How were the legs of an armor-covered animal organized? Limb research compared its bones with living armadillos. Questions of function arise from the internal skeleton as well as the body covering.^[2]

Fossil discovery

Studies of Eutatus limbs and species morphology continued. Interpretations splitting additional species after 2009 also raised new questions about assignments of older specimens. This illustrates reexamining material within a genus to consider species boundaries.^[1][2]

References

1. Study of Eutatus species morphology and climate
2. Limb reconstruction and palaeobiological study of Eutatus seguini
3. Paleobiology Database — Age of fossil-bearing strata of Eutatus
4. Vizcaíno·Milne·Bargo (2003) — Reconstruction of the limbs of Eutatus
5. Vizcaíno·Milne·Bargo (2003) — Reconstruction of the limbs of Eutatus
6. International Commission on Stratigraphy — Pleistocene boundaries
7. Comparative study of head structure in Neosclerocalyptus
8. Glyptodont study — Composition of specimen AGM 006
9. Study of xenarthrans in the Santiago Roth collection
10. Zurita, Carlini & Scillato-Yané (2008) — A new species of Neosclerocalyptus Paula Couto, 1957 (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae, Hoplophorinae) from the middle Pleistocene of the Pampean region, Argentina

Research questions

What different information do small pores in armor plates and limb bones provide? One offers clues to body-covering structure, the other to the bones supporting the body. Considering several regions together reveals exterior and interior from different perspectives.^[1][2]

Observation

Move your gaze from the armor covering the body to the limb bones. Thinking of pores on the rear of armor plates alongside the endoskeleton helps compare external and internal features.^[1][2]