Page 178 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

Giant sloths

and armadillos

The rise of mammals The fossils of this heavily built Megalonyx

ground sloth have been found in
North and Central America.

a blunt snout.
The Megalonyx had
shells of
Glyptodon were
big enough for early Unlike a modern armadillo,
humans to use as Glyptodon had a rigid,
shelters. dome-shaped shell with
no flexible sections.

With rings of bony
armor, the tail could
be used as a weapon—
possibly against The long claws were
rival Glyptodons. about 1 ⁄2 in (4 cm) thick
1
and would have been used
to collect plant food.

Glyptodon

Stout claws may have
been used to dig up
insects, but plants
formed most of its food.

Doedicurus

Fearsome spikes of bone
could have caused serious
injury to an attacker or rival.

While the giant dinosaurs were still alive, mammals to achieve great size were the
mammals were a small part of the wildlife. xenarthrans—the anteaters, the sloths, and the
But the mammals that survived into the new era armadillos and their relatives. Like their modern
inherited a world with very few big animals, and counterparts, they lived in South America,
over time their descendants started taking over although some spread to North America
176 the role themselves. Some of the most primitive when the two continents eventually became

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