94 MOSTLY MAMMALS 



of them attaining a length of six or seven inches. From 

 the structure of their sculpture it seems evident that 

 during life these discs formed the bases of huge horns 

 projecting at right angles to the tail, which would thus 

 have formed a veritable cheval de frise. If, as is quite 

 probable, these horns were as long as those of the common 

 African rhinoceros, the tail of the daedicurus must have 

 presented a most extraordinary appearance as it dragged 

 on the ground behind its owner (for it is impossible to 

 believe that any muscles could have raised such a stupen- 

 dous structure). The use of these horny appendages is, 

 however, hard indeed to guess, since the creature was 

 amply protected by the underlying bone ; and it is there- 

 fore probable that they must come under the category of 

 ornamental appendages. Be this as it may, with its bristle- 

 clad body and horned tail, the club-tailed glyptodon may 

 well lay claim to the right of being one of the most 

 extraordinary creatures that ever walked this earth during 

 the whole duration of the Tertiary period. Another species 

 belonging to the same genus, of which the remains are 

 found in the Tertiary beds of Monte Hermoso, is remark- 

 able for possessing a cone-shaped aperture in the middle 

 of the hinder part of the carapace, of which the only 

 conceivable use is that it acted as the point of discharge 

 of a gland. 



Nearly equal in size to the Pampean representative of 

 the preceding genus, but distinguished markedly by the 

 characters of the skull and the more regularly dome-like 

 form of the carapace, is another monster from the Pampas 

 which has been described under the name of Panochthus. 

 Although the plates of the carapace have the same oblong 

 form as in the club-tailed glyptodon, they lack any per- 

 forations for bristles, and are marked by a number of 



