Order Cingulata

Presenting By

Presenting To

Order Cingulata

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Superorder: Xenarthra

Order: Cingulata

Families

†Pampatheriidae

†Glyptodontidae

Dasypodidae

Description

• it is an order of armored New World placental mammals.

• Dasypodids, the armadillos, are the only surviving family of this order.

• Two additional families of cingulates much larger than . . .

• Armadillos (maximum body mass of 45 kg ) existed until recently:

• (i) Pampatheres: which reached weights of up to 200 kg and

• (ii) Glyptodonts: which attained masses of 2,000 kg or more

• The armadillo family Dasypodidae, containing 8 genera and 20 species, is the only surviving family of Cingulata.

• This order consists primarily of armadillo-like animals, and the name refers to the girdlelike shell of present-day armadillos.

• Five other families in this order are extinct and are known only from fossil remains.

• (1) Armadillos : They have dorsal armor formed by osteoderms, plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping keratinized epidermal scales called "scutes".

• Most species have rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with three to nine bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks.

General Characteristics

• (2) Pampatheres: They had shells that were flexible due to three

movable lateral bands of osteoderms.

• The osteoderms of pampatheres were each covered by a single scute, unlike those of armadillos, which have more than one.

• (3) Glyptodonts: They, had rigid, turtle-like shells of fused

osteoderms.

• All three groups have or had a cap of armor atop their heads.

• Glyptodonts also had heavily armored tails like Doedicurus, & mace-like clubs at the ends of their tails, which they used for defensive purposes.

Food

• Most armadillos eat insects and other invertebrates;

• some are more omnivorous and may also eat small vertebrates and vegetable matter.

• Pampatheres are thought to have been specialized for grazing, and isotopic analysis indicates the diet of glyptodonts was dominated by grasses.

Economic Importance

• Armadillos:i. play a large role in medical research because

they harbor a number of protozoan, bacterial, and fungal pathogens that are responsible for human disease.

• Nine-banded armadillos are important predators of a variety of common insect agricultural pests.

• In addition, nine-banded armadillos are hunted for their meat and skin, which is used to make various products.