Holmesina

Holmesina is an extinct genus of pampathere, a group of armadillo-like xenarthrans that were distantly related to extant armadillos. Like armadillos, and unlike the other extinct branch of megafaunal cingulates the glyptodonts, the shell was made up of flexible plates which allowed the animal to move more easily. thumb|left|Holmesina occidentalis thumb|left|Life reconstruction of Holmesina floridanus and size comparation Holmesina individuals were much larger than any modern armadillo: They could reach a length of , and a weight of , while the modern giant armadillo does not attain more than .

== Taxonomy == Joseph Leidy initially described Holmesina fossils from Florida as Glyptodon septentrionalis in 1889. However, shortly after a close relationship with the pampatheriids was realized, wherein the finds were reassigned to the South American Pampatherium ("Chlamytherium") humboldtii, therein revised to its own species, Chlamytherium septentrionalis, by Elias Howard Sellards in 1915. After additional fossils from Texas were described, George Gaylord Simpson assigned the finds to its own genus, Holmesina, in 1930.