Peltephilus, the horned armadillo, is an extinct genus of armadilloxenarthranmammals that first inhabited Argentina during the Oligoceneepoch, and became extinct in the Miocene epoch. Notably, the scutes on its head were so developed that they formed horns. Aside from the horned gophers of North America, it is the only known fossorial horned mammal.[1]P. ferox had skull about 11.7 centimetres (4.6 in),[2] and estimated body mass is around 11.07 kilograms (24.4 lb).[3]
Although it had traditionally been perceived as a carnivore because of its large, triangular-shaped teeth, Vizcaino and Farina argued in 1997 that Peltephilus was a herbivore.[4]
^Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp. 208–209. ISBN1-84028-152-9.