tracer Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 i guess holmesina septentrionalis body armor isn't exciting to too many here, but these are pretty clear pictures, so i thought i'd post them for those who might find one and think it's something else. it seems like there's quite a bit of variety in turtle shell pieces, but the holmesina osteoderms are fairly distinctive and less varied in their manifestations. TJ found this, as always. i never find or get anything good. it's just fortunate that i have my favorite exogyra ponderosa to trump all his discoveries. ok, picture this. can you imagine running down a texas paleo trail in your flintstone mobile at high speed and suddenly hitting a 600-pound armadillo?? geez, louise! (wait, can i say that?)(i crack myself so up!)<==linguistic humor -subtle, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Good find. I don't have a huge number of those myself. Always fun to find something in the Pleistocene that is clearly and unequivocally from an extinct critter, regardless of mineralization or lack thereof. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 yeah, i really like it when he finds something that we are certain what it was, and i can visually imagine it stomping around. or swimming around, scarfing up other paleo victims. you know what i mean. for me, all these things are about counting coup on the past. i like getting the visual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Nice find Tracer, and thanks for the visual. I think I will be looking at all those belly up armadillos in a whole new light now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Great find! I want one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Wow, I can't imagine what a car collision with one would look like! Nice fossil and pic. Thanks, if I'm ever lucky enough to find one then I'll know what it is! Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 As for me, I can almost hear the bellowing of mammoths at times, permeated by the occasional wail of a paleo hunter being swatted aside by a massive trunk as his coterie of cazadores closes in on the beast with sharp, pointy sticks... Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Wow, I can't imagine what a car collision with one would look like! One big glypto-dent. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Reading this thread helps put in perspective our good fortune in Florida. These osteoderms are fairly common here. The armadillos (as opposed to the glyptotheres) come in four sizes here. From largest to smallest: Holmesina septentrionalis, the giant armadillo of the Late Pleistocene. Holmesina floridanum, the smaller giant armadillo of the Plio-Pleistocene. Dasypus bellus, the "beautiful armadillo," a much smaller Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene form. Dasypus novemcinctus, the nine-banded armadillo, a recent invader. These are all related to the sloths (all are xenarthrans), and all originated in South America. Here are a couple of images to provide some scale. This image is of osteoderms from the imbricating bands which provide some flexibility to the buckler of these armadillos. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 One big glypto-dent. Well done, friend! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 In my limited experience none of this stuff seems to be very common in TX. I have maybe 15 glyptodont osteoderms, 10 Holmesina, and perhaps only 3 Daspyus. None were articulated. I think I have a few related verts, but the teeth have proven elusive. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 In my limited experience none of this stuff seems to be very common in TX. I have maybe 15 glyptodont osteoderms, 10 Holmesina, and perhaps only 3 Daspyus. None were articulated. I think I have a few related verts, but the teeth have proven elusive. Yeah, it's a puzzle. Populations of these critters were in Texas before they ever got to Florida. Glyptothere teeth have always eluded me, but I have 2 or 3 armadillo jaws, plus loose teeth, plus many osteoderms, plus more than a few post-cranial bones. This is my best glyptothere fossil from the Peace River. I guess we collect what is available locally, and forget that distribution of these fossils is spotty. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Awesome piece, Harry. I've otherwise only seen articulated osteoderms from South America. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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