Glyphoderma

Glyphoderma's shell was made of more than 400 separate bony plates, called osteoderms, that fit together like a puzzle.1

It had three large, cone-shaped bumps fused to the back of its skull, which no other placodont had.12

Glyphoderma is the only known placodont from the Ladinian age of the Middle Triassic in its family, Placochelyidae.2

Its name means 'sculptured skin' because of the deep grooves and ridges on its shell plates.1

The first fossil of Glyphoderma was found in a thick block of limestone, so scientists cannot see its belly very well.1

Glyphoderma had a very strong skull because most of its skull bones were fused together.1