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94 / Cenozoic
Doedicurus
Doedicurus clavicaudatus
A spiked tail club completed the armor of this giant glyptodont.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 2 million–10,000 years ago
- Final stage
- End of the Pleistocene
- Geographic range
- Southern South American grasslands
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Doedicurus?
This archive records Doedicurus under the scientific name Doedicurus clavicaudatus, with an age of About 2 million–10,000 years ago and a range of Southern South American grasslands. A spiked tail club completed the armor of this giant glyptodont.
Doedicurus grazed on open plains beneath a domed carapace. Its flexible armored tail ended in a massive club likely used against rivals or predators.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Doedicurus at a glance
- Scientific name
- Doedicurus clavicaudatus
- Age
- About 2 million–10,000 years ago
- Last recorded stage
- End of the Pleistocene
- Known range
- Southern South American grasslands
- Broad group
- mammal or synapsid
- Archive era
- Cenozoic
- Habitat signals
- Grassland
- Documented regions
- South America
03 / ANATOMY
How was Doedicurus built?
Overall body plan
A spiked tail club completed the armor of this giant glyptodont.
Skull, teeth and feeding mechanics
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Doedicurus, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Limbs, posture and body mass
Doedicurus grazed on open plains beneath a domed carapace. Its flexible armored tail ended in a massive club likely used against rivals or predators.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Doedicurus.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Doedicurus live?
Doedicurus grazed on open plains beneath a domed carapace. Its flexible armored tail ended in a massive club likely used against rivals or predators. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on food webs, vegetation, water, climate and competition. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Doedicurus live?
This archive currently lists About 2 million–10,000 years ago; Southern South American grasslands. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Southern South American grasslands. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 2 million–10,000 years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as End of the Pleistocene. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Grassland. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Doedicurus?
Primary record
Shells, tail clubs, skeletons and healed injuries reveal its defensive life.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Doedicurus within About 2 million–10,000 years ago and Southern South American grasslands. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Doedicurus disappear?
Climate change and human pressure accompanied the loss of South American megafauna.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Doedicurus FAQ
What was Doedicurus?
This archive records Doedicurus under the scientific name Doedicurus clavicaudatus, with an age of About 2 million–10,000 years ago. A spiked tail club completed the armor of this giant glyptodont.
When did Doedicurus live?
The current archive range is About 2 million–10,000 years ago; its youngest recorded stage is End of the Pleistocene.
Where was Doedicurus found?
The archive currently lists Southern South American grasslands. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Doedicurus?
Shells, tail clubs, skeletons and healed injuries reveal its defensive life.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS