''Imagocnus'' is an extinct
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
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 Caribbe ...
from the
Early Miocene (
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...
)
Lagunitas Formation of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
Description
This sloth resided in the Antilles and showed a range of body size, from ''
Parocnus
''Parocnus'' is an extinct genus of sloth native to Cuba and Hispaniola, belonging to the family Megalocnidae. It was a large terrestrial ground sloth, being the second largest Caribbean sloth after ''Megalocnus
''Megalocnus'' ("great sloth" ...
''-sized to ''
Megalocnus
''Megalocnus'' ("great sloth" in Greek) is a genus of extinct large ground sloths that were native to Cuba during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. They were among the largest of the Caribbean sloths (Megalocnidae), with individuals estimate ...
''-sized or larger. Its relationships to
other Antillean sloths are not immediately clear, though the genera ''Megalocnus'' and ''Parocnus'', other ground sloths, are its most likely relatives.
See also
*
Pilosans of the Caribbean
The mammalian order Pilosa, which includes the sloths and anteaters, includes various species from the Caribbean region. Many species of sloths are known from the Greater Antilles, all of which became extinct over the last millennia, but some sloth ...
References
Prehistoric sloths
Prehistoric placental genera
Miocene xenarthrans
Burdigalian life
Miocene mammals of North America
Hemingfordian
Neogene Cuba
Fossils of Cuba
Fossil taxa described in 1994
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