| “ | Doedicurus, for instance, are not only well armored, they are huge. These are ancient relatives of the armadillo, yet they weigh almost three hundred times as much! | ” |
Doedicurus was a prehistoric animal featured in Walking with Beasts.
Facts
A spiky-tailed relative of modern armadillos, but the size of a car, Doedicurus looked very similar to the ancient dinosaur Ankylosaurus but it was relatively smaller and with spikes on the tail for extra protection. It had spikes on its tail to defend itself, both to protect itself and in competition for females.
Jousting Doedicurus.(Saber Tooth)
These creatures were not only well-armored, but also huge. Although ancient relatives of the armadillo, Doedicurus weighed almost 300 times as much (2370 kilograms). Those spiked tail clubs alone could weigh 74 kilos – as much as a cannonball.
Although fearsome defensive weapons, the males mostly use their tails on each other, to batter rivals into submission during hormone–fueled jousts for a mate.
Portrayal in the series
In the episode Sabre Tooth, Doedicurus is depicted as a large and well-armored mammal. Normally, it is solitary, but this episode showed Doedicurus both fighting each other for a mate and raising their young as other mammals do.
In Walking With... series
Walking with Beasts
Saber Tooth
Doedicurus appeared as a background character, fighting for a mate and raising their young, oblivious to the sabre-tooth cats and terror birds as the latter clashed for the prey and dominance; mainly, they served as the "ethnic flavor" in the episode.
Gallery
