Glyptodon/Glyptotherium Bony Armor Scute - Florida

This is a bony scute (armored plate) of Glyptodon or a related genus Glyptotherium. It was found in the Peace River area of Florida. Glyptodon and Glyptotherium were a large, armored mammals related to an armadillo which lived during the Pleistocene epoch. They grew to about 10 feet in length and weighed up to 2 tons, roughly the size and shape of VW beetle. Glyptodon is believed to have been a herbivore, grazing on grasses and other plants found near rivers and small bodies of water. It's protective shell was made covered with more than a thousand bony plates, called scutes.