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Mylodontidae
Mylodontidae is a family of extinct South American and North American ground sloths within the suborder Folivora of order Pilosa The order Pilosa is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths (which includes the extinct ground sloths). The name comes from the Latin word for "hairy". Origins and taxonomy The b ..., living from around 23 million years ago (Mya) to 11,000 years ago. This family is most closely related to another family of extinct ground sloths, Scelidotheriidae, as well as to the extant arboreal two-toed sloths, family Choloepus, Choloepodidae; together these make up the superfamily Mylodontoidea. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphology uncovered the relationship between Mylodontidae and Scelidotheriidae; in fact, the latter was for a time considered a subfamily of mylodontids. However, molecular sequence comparisons were needed for the correct placement of Choloepodidae. These studies have been car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urumacotherium
''Urumacotherium'' (meaning "Urumaco beast") is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Mylodontidae. It lived from the Middle Miocene to the Early Pliocene of what is now Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. Classification ''Urumacotherium'' is an extinct genus of the also extinct family Mylodontidae. The Mylodontidae represent a branch of the suborder of sloths (Folivora). Within this they are often grouped together with the Orophodontidae and the Scelidotheriidae in the superfamily Mylodontoidea (sometimes, however, the Scelidotheriidae and the Orophodontidae are considered only as a subfamily of the Mylodontidae).Luciano Varela, P. Sebastián Tambusso, H. Gregory McDonald und Richard A. Fariña: ''Phylogeny, Macroevolutionary Trends and Historical Biogeography of Sloths: Insights From a Bayesian Morphological Clock Analysis.'' Systematic Biology 68 (2), 2019, S. 204–218 In a classical view, based on skeletal anatomical studies, the Mylodontoidea in turn represent one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudoprepotherium
''Pseudoprepotherium'' is an extinct genus of sloths of the family Mylodontidae. It was widespread across northern South America during the Early to Late Miocene epoch around 21 to 5.3 million years ago. Fossils of the animal have been found in Brazil, Venezuela, and Peru. ''Pseudoprepotherium'' lived in a tropical climate with a water-rich environment. Their known remains are limited to limb bones, except for a few skulls and teeth. Based on these remains, they were most likely medium to large-sized mylodontid. The genus was described in 1961 and currently contains three species, which were originally assigned to the genus ''Prepotherium''. Description ''Pseudoprepotherium'' is a medium to a large-sized member of the family Mylodontidae. The material documented so far consists mainly of limb bones but includes individual skulls and remains of jaws. Body weight of around 550kg is reconstructed for the smaller relatives using a thigh bone around 42cm long. Large molds with femur l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramylodon Harlani
''Paramylodon'' is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene through Pleistocene epochs, living from around ~4.9 Mya–11,000 years ago. It is also known as Harlan's ground sloth. Due to the partly very good fossil preservation, the body armor typical for the mylodonts has mostly been preserved in the form of osteoderms. In addition, a sex-specific difference in cranial structure can be demonstrated. According to the finds, the representatives of ''Paramylodon'' lived in open landscapes, sometimes also in mountainous locations, and most likely fed on grass-eating or mixed plant diets. Unique trace fossils also provide information about the locomotion of the animals, which was quadrupedal. In addition, due to the design of the forelimbs, a certain burrowing way of life cannot be disputed. Within the genus only two species are recognized: ''Paramylodon harlani'' and ''Paramylodon garbanii''. The first fossil findings d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mylodontinae
Mylodontinae is an extinct subfamily of ground sloths that lived from the Early Miocene to the Early Holocene epochs. Classification The classification of the Mylodontidae is complex and often under discussion. The most widely accepted subfamilies are the Mylodontinae with ''Mylodon'' as the type genus and the Lestodontinae, whose type genus is ''Lestodon'', which sometimes also includes ''Paramylodon'' and ''Glossotherium ''Glossotherium'' is an extinct genus of mylodontid ground sloths of the subfamily Mylodontinae, which includes large ground-dwelling sloths. It represents one of the best known members of the family, along with ''Mylodon'' and ''Paramylodon''. ...'' (sometimes also listed as belonging to the tribes Mylodontini and Lestodontini. The subdivision of the terminal group of mylodonts into the Lestodontinae and Mylodontinae found confirmation in one of the most comprehensive studies of the phylogeny of sloths based on cranial features in 2004, which subsequently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baraguatherium
''Baraguatherium'' is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Mylodontidae that lived during the Early Miocene of what is now Venezuela. It dates to the Early Miocene, around 20.44 to 15.97 million years ago and represents the oldest representative of its family in the northern part of South America to date. The structure of the teeth suggests that the genus represents a rather basal form within the Mylodontidae. Unlike other mylodonts, which tended to prefer open grasslands, ''Baraguatherium'' lived in a riverine, coastal tropical rainforest. Discovery and naming The remains of ''Baraguatherium'' known to date are from the Castillo Formation, which is exposed in the Falcón Basin in northwestern Venezuela. The Falcón Basin is located in the boundary of the Caribbean to the South American Plate. An almost complete depositional sequence has been preserved here, ranging from the Eocene to the Pliocene, some of which is very rich in fossils. The most important and best k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground Sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. The term is used to refer to all extinct sloths because of the large size of the earliest forms discovered, compared to existing tree sloths. The Caribbean ground sloths, the most recent survivors, lived in the Antilles, possibly until 1550 BCE. However, radiocarbon dating suggests an age of between 2819 and 2660 BCE for the last occurrence of ''Megalocnus'' in Cuba. Ground sloths had been extinct on the mainland of North and South America for 10,000 years or more. They survived 5,000–6,000 years longer in the Caribbean than on the American mainland, which correlates with the later colonization of this area by humans. Much ground sloth evolution took place during the late Paleogene and Neogene of South America, while the continent was isolated. At their earliest appearance in the fossil record, the ground sloths were already distinct at the family level. The presence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folivora
Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rainforests of South America and Central America. Sloths are considered to be most closely related to anteaters, together making up the xenarthran order Pilosa. There are six extant sloth species in two genera – '' Bradypus'' (three–toed sloths) and '' Choloepus'' (two–toed sloths). Despite this traditional naming, all sloths have three toes on each rear limb-- although two-toed sloths have only two digits on each forelimb. The two groups of sloths are from different, distantly related families, and are thought to have evolved their morphology via parallel evolution from terrestrial ancestors. Besides the extant species, many species of ground sloths ranging up to the size of elep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mylodontoidea
Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rainforests of South America and Central America. Sloths are considered to be most closely related to anteaters, together making up the xenarthran order Pilosa. There are six extant sloth species in two genera – '' Bradypus'' (three–toed sloths) and '' Choloepus'' (two–toed sloths). Despite this traditional naming, all sloths have three toes on each rear limb-- although two-toed sloths have only two digits on each forelimb. The two groups of sloths are from different, distantly related families, and are thought to have evolved their morphology via parallel evolution from terrestrial ancestors. Besides the extant species, many species of ground sloths ranging up to the size of ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South American Land Mammal Age
The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Mya (unit), Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as ages, stages, or intervals and were established using geographic place names where fossil materials where obtained.Flynn & Swisher, 1995 The basic unit of measure is the first/last boundary statement. This shows that the first appearance event of one taxon is known to predate the last appearance event of another. If two taxa are found in the same fossil quarry or at the same stratigraphic horizon, then their age-range zones overlap. Background South America was an island continent for much of the Cenozoic, or the "Age of Mammals". As a result, its mammals evolved in their own unique directions, as Australia and Madagascar still have today. Paleogeographic timeline A simplified paleogeography, paleogeographic timeline of South ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scelidotheriidae
Scelidotheriidae is a family of extinct ground sloths within the order Pilosa, suborder Folivora and superfamily Mylodontoidea, related to the other extinct mylodontoid family, Mylodontidae, as well as to the living two-toed sloth family Choloepodidae. The only other extant family of the suborder Folivora is the distantly related Bradypodidae. Erected as the family Scelidotheriidae by Ameghino in 1889, the taxon was demoted to a subfamily by Gaudin in 1995. However, recent collagen sequence data indicates the group is less closely related to ''Mylodon'' and ''Lestodon'' than '' Choloepus'' is, and thus it has been elevated back to full family status by Presslee ''et al.'' (2019). Taxonomy Together with Mylodontidae, and the two-toed sloths, the scelidotheriids form the superfamily Mylodontoidea. ''Chubutherium'' is an ancestral and very plesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Octodontotherium
''Octodontotherium'' is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae, endemic to South America during the Late Oligocene (Deseadan). It lived from 29 to 23 mya, existing for approximately . Fossil distribution is exclusive to Santa Cruz Province, Argentina (Deseado and Sarmiento Formations) and Bolivia ( Salla Formation). Taxonomy ''Octodontotherium'' was named by Ameghino (1894). It was assigned to Mylodontidae by Carroll (1988); and to Mylodontinae Mylodontinae is an extinct subfamily of ground sloths that lived from the Early Miocene to the Early Holocene epochs. Classification The classification of the Mylodontidae is complex and often under discussion. The most widely accepted subfamili ... by Gaudin (1995).T. J. Gaudin. 1995. The ear region of edentates and the phylogeny of Tardigrada (Mammalia, Xenarthra). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15(3):672-705 References Prehistoric sloths Oligocene genus first appearances Oligocene genus extin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilosa
The order Pilosa is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths (which includes the extinct ground sloths). The name comes from the Latin word for "hairy". Origins and taxonomy The biogeographic origins of the Pilosa are still unclear, but they can be traced back in South America as far as the early Paleogene (about 60 million years ago, only a short time after the end of the Mesozoic Era). The presence of these animals in Central America and their former presence in North America is a result of the Great American Interchange. A number of sloths were also formerly present on the Antilles, which they reached from South America by some combination of rafting or floating with the prevailing currents. Together with the armadillos, which are in the order Cingulata, pilosans are part of the larger superorder Xenarthra, a defining characteristic of which is the presence of xenarthrals (extra formations between lumbar verte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
