glyptodont

[ glip-tuh-dont ]

noun

1. any edentate mammal of the extinct genus Glyptodon, of the Pleistocene Epoch, having the body covered by a horny and bony armor.

glyptodont

/ ˈɡlɪptəˌdɒnt /

noun

1. any extinct late Cenozoic edentate mammal of the genus Glyptodon and related genera, of South America, which resembled giant armadillos

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyptodont¹

1830–40; < New Latin, stem of Glyptodon genus name, equivalent to Greek glypt ( ós ) carved + -odōn (stem -odont- ) -toothed, adj. derivative of odṓn tooth

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyptodont¹

C19: from Greek gluptos carved + -odont

Example Sentences

A glyptodont skull at the AMNH, on the other side of the wall from the injured Smilodon, shows two oval holes in the top that could have been made by a saber-toothed cat.

From Scientific American

Since humanity left Africa some tens of thousands of years ago, large land animals across the world have had a mysterious habit of dying out: giant kangaroo, woolly mammoth, glyptodont, to name a few.

From New York Times

They determined the glyptodont lineage originated about 35 million years ago.

From Reuters

One of the main differences between this ancient group and their modern cousins is the glyptodont's huge, dome-shaped shell, which was not articulated like the iconic, layered bands of the armadillo.

From BBC

Sure enough, the team eventually managed to reconstruct the entire mitochondrial genome - because the computer simulations and bait sequences were mitochondrial DNA - of a glyptodont.

From BBC