Ancient Giant Armadillo The Size of A Car Discovered In Argentina

The fossils of four ancient armadillos the size of cars have been discovered by a farmer in Argentina.

A farmer in Argentina has discovered four fossilized shells of Glyptodonts—massive, armored mammals related to modern armadillos that roamed South America 20,000 years ago. The largest specimen, comparable in size to a Volkswagen Beetle, measures up to 3 meters (10 feet) long and would have weighed over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds).

Unearthed in a dried riverbed near Buenos Aires, Argentina, this rare cluster of Glyptodont fossils—now being studied by the Institute of Archaeological and Palaeontological Investigations of the Pampa Quaternary (INIPQUA)—provides fresh insights into the region’s Ice Age ecosystem.

Ancient Armadillo The Size Of A Car Discovered By Farmer In Argentina. Credit: CEN

Scientists from the institute will now spend the next week digging out the shells to get a better look at them and find out as much as possible.

Pablo Messineo, one of the archaeologists, said the strange discovery was made by Juan de Dios Sota, a farmer who was taking his cows out for a graze when he spotted the shapes of the shells.

He quickly established that they weren't any ordinary animal, and alerted the scientists, who arrived in short order.

Messineo explained: "We went there expecting to find two glyptodonts when the excavation started and then two more were found!

Paleontologists carefully excavate four massive Glyptodont fossils - giant prehistoric armadillos the size of cars - discovered in a dried riverbed near Buenos Aires, Argentina

"It is the first time there have been four animals like this in the same site. Most of them were facing the same direction, like they were walking towards something."

These four appear to be a group comprising two adults and two young animals.

Tests will be performed to attempt to establish how old they are, what sex they were, and - potentially - how they died.

At this stage, it is believed they are roughly 20,000 years old. They'll have to be extracted using a digger, because the shells are so heavy.

This isn't the first time in recent years that Glyptodont shells have been turned up unexpectedly in Argentina. Another shell belonging to one of the long-extinct mammals was discovered in Argentina in October last year, as well as yet another four years ago.

Despite those recent discoveries, these shells remarkably rare. Near complete shells - or carapaces as they're known - are not found very often.

Farmer discovers prehistoric graveyard with four fossilized Glyptodont shells - including a car-sized armadillo relative as big as a Volkswagen Beetle.