armadillo osteoderms

Compare osteoderms from the giant Pleistocene armadillo with osteoderms from a modern, nine-banded armadillo.

These are bits of boney armor from the dorsal shell of these xenarthrans. This armor arises from the dermis of the animals. The armor bits are sometimes preserved as fossils.

These bits of bone are called "osteoderms," not "scutes."

(Scutes are the chitonous scales that cover these osteoderms in life. Scutes are thin, flexible, and translucent. Scutes arise from the epidermis of the animals. They are never preserved as fossils.)

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