Giant Armadillo Scute
Holmesina septentrionalis
Markings and exact colorations may vary.
A long, banded plate of armour from a 600-pound Ice Age armadillo.
- Typical size
- 1–3 in
- How often it turns up
- Uncommon
- Collecting
- Archaeological, leave in place
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Vertebrate fossils collected from state-owned land or submerged bottoms in Florida require a fossil permit from the Florida Museum of Natural History. Beach-washed finds above the waterline are generally fine, but know your site.
How to tell it apart
- Elongated rectangular plate
- Grooved and pitted surface
- Lighter and thinner than glyptodont scutes
Where to find these in Florida
Beaches rated very good or excellent for fossils. Each page shows today’s score, the best window and access details.
- Caspersen Beach · Venice
- Englewood Beach (Chadwick Park) · Englewood
- Stump Pass Beach State Park · Englewood
- Turner Beach · Captiva
- Turtle Beach · Siesta Key
Found one?
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More fossils in the field guide
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