Description

Giant Armadillo

Giant Armadillo toe bone recovered from North Florida. Specimen is complete, solid and nicely preserved. This is a nice specimen.

Holmesina, is an extinct group of armadillo-like creatures. They were distantly related to extant armadillos.  Furthermore, like armadillos, their shell was made up of flexible plates which allowed the animal to move more easily. Their species were herbivores and they grazed on coarse vegetation.

In addition, Holmesina were much larger than modern armadillo. As a result, they could reach a length of 2 m, with a weight of 227 kg (500 lbs). Yet the modern giant armadillo does not attain a weight of more than 54 kg (119 lbs). They traveled north in the faunal interchange and adapted well to North America. Consequently, their fossils can be found from Brazil to the United States; with most found in Texas and Florida.