Description
Megatherium is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type species M. americanum, sometimes called the giant ground sloth, or the megathere, native to the Pampas through southern Bolivia during the Pleistocene. Various other smaller species belonging to the subgenus Pseudomegatherium are known from the Andes.
Megatherium is part of the sloth family Megatheriidae, which also includes the similarly elephantine Eremotherium, which was native to tropical South America and southern North America. Only a few other land mammals equaled or exceeded M. americanum in size, such as large proboscideans (e.g., elephants) and the giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium. Megatherium was first discovered in 1788 on the bank of the Luján River in Argentina.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.