Cochlops

Cochlops is an extinct genus of glyptodont. It lived from the Early to Middle Miocene, and its fossilized remains have been found in South America.

Description
This animal, like all glyptodonts, had an armor formed by numerous osteoderms fused together, protecting most of its body. Its skull was characterized by a shortened rostrum, a facial profile strongly inclined towards the front, and the occipital plane was oblique. The shape of its skull prefigured that of later genera such as Panochthus. Its carapace was characterized by particularly wrinkled osteoderms, especially compared to other forms of archaic glyptodonts, such as Asterostemma and Propalaehoplophorus ; some osteoderms, especially in the pelvic area, had a particular ornamentation, with a large central conical tubercle surrounded by smaller wrinkled tubercles.

Classification
The genus Cochlops was first described in 1889 by Florentino Ameghino, based on fossil remains found in Early Miocene terrains of Argentina. The type species is Cochlops muricatus, and the species C. debilis, described in 1891 by Ameghin, is also ascribed to the genus. The genus Metopotoxus was later synonymized with the genus Cochlops.

Cochlops was a basal glyptodont, belonging to the tribe Propalaehoplophorini, and related to the genera Propalaehoplophorus, Asterostemma and Eucinepeltus.

Modern cladistic analysis suggests that Propalaehoplophorini is a paraphyletic group. Cladogram after Barasoain et al. 2022: