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 
