Article XVII.— GLYPTOTHERIUM TEXANUM, A NEW 



GLYPTODONT, FROM THE LOWER 



PLEISTOCENE OF TEXAS. 



By Henry Fairfield Osborn. 

 Plate XLIII. 



The existence of Glyptodonts in the United States was 

 made known by Cope ^ in 1888 in his description of Glyptodon 

 petaliferus, based on a single carapace scute or plate from 

 the Lower Pleistocene Equus Beds of Texas; and by Leidy ^ 

 in 1889 in his Glyptodon septciitrionalis, based on carapace 

 and caudal scutes from Florida; Leidy also described ^ and 

 figured from Florida plates of the G. petaliferus type. The 

 American Museum Expedition sent out by the writer, with the 

 aid of the William C. Whitney Fund, under the leadership of 

 Mr. J. W. Gidley, was fortunate in securing the nearly complete 

 carapace, pelvis, sacrum, caudals, and complete tail armature 

 of an individual in fine preservation. It proves to represent 

 a new genus and species, combining characters of several of 

 the South American forms of the Pleistocene and Miocene 

 periods. The specimen was skillfully brought in by Mr. Gidley 

 and prepared and mounted under the direction of Mr. Adam 

 Hermann. The writer is especially indebted to Prof. W. B. 

 Scott for pointing out several of the features in which 

 Glyptotherium differs from the known South American genera. 

 Also to Mr. W. K. Gregory for the preparation of the manu- 

 script for the press. 



The specific distinctions given below are derived by com- 

 parison of ( I ) the specimens referred by Leidy to G. petaliferus 

 and of (2) Cope's description, which runs as follows: "... 

 with the circumferential areas of the rosette but little smaller 

 than the central one. The former are regularly pentagonal, 



' Amer. Naturalist, Vol. XXII, 1888, p. 345- 



' Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1889, p. 97; and ' Description of Vertebrate Remains 

 from the Peace Creek of Florida,' Trans. Wagner Free Inst, of Phila., Vol. II, 1889. 

 p. 24. 



^ Ibid., pi. iv, fig. 9; pi. vi, fig. i. 



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