Parutaetus oliveirai lived in South America in between 42 and 39 million years back(Middle-Late Eocene date).

The ancient types comes from Euphractinae, a group of armadillos within the household Dasypodidae.

“Dasypodidae are represented by extant and extinct armadillos, “stated Universidade Federal de Santa paleontologist Tabata Klimeck and associates.

“This group has a broad stratigraphic and geographical circulation from southern Patagonia to southern North America.”

“The paleontological record of armadillos is primarily represented by their osteoderms.”

“They are understood in nearly all South American mammalian animals from the Late Paleocene/Early Eocene or just from the Early Eocene, according to other analyses.”

“Euphractinae is the most varied clade (subfamily) within Dasypodidae,” they kept in mind.

“The earliest incidents of undoubted euphractines date from the Middle-Late Eocene of Gran Barranca area in Argentinian Patagonia and Middle Eocene Upper Lumbrera Formation of northwestern Argentina.”

Parutaetus is among the early-divergent euphractines,” they included.

“This genus was explained in 1902, with the type types Parutaetus chicoensis from Argentinian Patagonia.”

8 fossilized osteoderms from Parutaetus oliveirai were discovered in the Guabirotuba Formation, situated in the town of Curitiba in the Brazilian state of Paraná.

“The Guabirotuba Formation is the primary lithostratigraphic system of the Curitiba Sedimentary Basin,” the paleontologists stated.

“It is represented by deposits of a distributive fluvial system made up of immature subarchoic sands and muds, sprinkled with gravel deposits limited to the edges of the basin.”

“The geological qualities show a semi-arid environment, with rainy durations coming from short-term rivers that transferred the sediment and formed alluvial fans.”

The brand-new types broadens the understanding about the variety of armadillos that populated southeast South America throughout the Paleogene duration.

Parutaetus oliveirai‘s osteoderms vary from other types of the genus by providing: (i) more surface area glandular and piliferous foramina; (ii) a flat surface area expression location in between the osteoderms, which does not provide a groove in the center part of the osteoderm; and (iii) bigger size,” the scientists stated.

“In mix, this suite of qualities is not present in other types of the Parutaetus genus.”

“The boost in the variety of surface area glandular and piliferous foramina, along with in size, might be related to the international cooling that happened throughout the Middle-Late Eocene that impacted the South American animals.”

“Finally, the brand-new types broadens the understanding about the still inadequately understood variety of mammals that populated southeast South America throughout the Eocene date.”

The findings were released in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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T.D.F. Klimeck et al2024. Exposing the variety of Paleogene cingulates from Brazil: a brand-new types of Parutaetus (Euphractinae) in the Guabirotuba Formation (Middle-Late Eocene). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 44 (1 ): e2403581; doi: 10.1080/ 02724634.2024.2403581