Peltephilus

File:Peltephilus ferox skull.jpg

Skull of P. ferox

Peltephilus, the horned armadillo, is an extinct genus of armadillo xenarthran mammals that first inhabited Argentina during the Oligocene epoch, and became extinct in the Miocene epoch. Notably, the scutes on its head were so developed that they formed horns. Aside from the horned gophers of North America, it is the only known fossorial horned mammal. P. ferox had skull about , and estimated body mass is around .

Although it had traditionally been perceived as a carnivore because of its large, triangular-shaped teeth, Vizcaino and Fariña argued in 1997 that Peltephilus was a herbivore.

Taxonomy

The genus was originally classified as belonging to the family Chlamyphoridae, but in 2007 was placed in its own family Peltephilidae by Darin A. Croft, John J. Flynn and Andre Wyss.

Distribution

Fossils of Peltephilus have been found in:

Deseadan

• Argentina – Sarmiento Formation
• Bolivia – Salla Formation

Miocene

• Argentina – Colloncuran Collón Curá Formation and Santacrucian Santa Cruz Formation
• Bolivia – Colloncuran Nazareno Formation
• Chile – Santacrucian Chucal Formation