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Prehistoric Life

How long was Glyptodon clavipes?

An adult Glyptodon clavipes was about 3.3 m (11 ft) long.

What is measured: Adult, shell length

Glyptodon clavipes (3.3 m) drawn to scale beside a doorway (2 m) and a 20-foot shipping container (6.06 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Doorway (2 m), Glyptodon clavipes (3.3 m) and Shipping container (20 ft) (6.06 m).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 54% of the length of a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 3 would fit end to end along a city bus
  • About 1.7× the height of a doorway
  • About 1.9× the height of an adult person
  • About 7 would fit end to end along a tennis court

Learn

Facts about Glyptodon clavipes

Glyptodon carried a massive armor shell made of many fused bony plates and had a protective bony tail.

Source: Natural History Museum, London, “Glyptodon”; Encyclopaedia Britannica, “glyptodont”

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Glyptodon clavipes
Hieraaetus moorei3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.91×
Mussaurus patagonicus3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.91×
Aepyornis maximus3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.91×
Kelenken guillermoi3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.91×
Glyptodon clavipes3.3 m (11 ft)this page
Arctodus simus3.4 m (11 ft)1×
Megatherium americanum3.5 m (11 ft)1.1×
Edaphosaurus pogonias3.5 m (11 ft)1.1×
Ornithomimus edmontonicus3.5 m (11 ft)1.1×
Dinornis robustus3.6 m (12 ft)1.1×

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