Doedicurus (name meaning "Pestle Tail") is a genus of glyptodont that originated during the Pleistocene in what is now South America. Measuring nearly 5 meters long and weighing 1 ton, Doedicurus was the largest armored Glyptodont mammal of all time.
In the Series 3 episode "Saving the Sabre Tooth," four adult Doedicurus were brought to the park from Pleistocene South America, 1 million years ago. They reside in the Giraffe Grasslands Enclosure and would mate and produce a total of six offspring.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Doedicurus lived in South America during the Pleistocene period over 1 million years ago. It shared its environment with Arctotherium, Cuvieronius, Glyptodon, Macrauchenia, Megatherium, Phorusrhacos, Smilodon, and Toxodon. Doedicurus was first discovered by Richard Owen in 1847.
Physical Attributes[]
Doedicurus skeleton
Ancient relatives of armadillos, Doedicurus was a large, well-armored, and spiky–tailed creature that measured 13 – 16 feet (4 – 5 m) long and weighing 1 – 2 tons (2,000 – 4,000 lbs.), making them the size of a car and they weighed almost 300 times as much. Their spiked tail clubs alone weighed 40 kilos – as much as a cannonball.
Behavior & Traits[]
Doedicurus was a solitary animal most of the time. However, males would fight over a mate. Although their spiked-tails were fearsome defensive weapons, Doedicurus males mostly used their tails on each other to batter rivals into submission during hormone–fuelled jousts for a mate. Additionally, the females cared for their young.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The sound effects of Doedicurus are that of bull, moose, walrus and wild pig sound effects.
- Doedicurus is the largest and one of the three species of Glyptodonts, the other one being the Glyptodon and Glyptotherium.