''Neocnus'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of ground sloth, whose species ranged across

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 ...

and Hispaniola (today split between Haiti and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

). ''Neocnus'' would have resembled a typical ground sloth, though much smaller, with a longer tail and a broad trunk, as well as lissome limbs and long claws. This sloth was known for having caudal vertebrae that were broad, a trait shared with other ground sloths, indicating that this animal, like the

tamandua ''Tamandua'' is a genus of anteaters with two species: the southern tamandua (''T. tetradactyla'') and the northern tamandua (''T. mexicana''). They live in forests and grasslands, are semiarboreal, and possess partially prehensile tails. They m ...

of today, likely used its tail to stand upright. The caniniform teeth of the ''Neocnus'' were large and triangular, and its skull was deep and had a large, sagittal crest which, when used with the deep mandible likely allowed strong exertion by the masticatory muscles. The fossils of this sloth were found in Haitian cave deposits. They have been dated to as recently as 4391 BP,

calibrated In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of known ...

to c. 5000 BP. It is theorized that this sloth, in common with other Antillean sloths, was most likely hunted to extinction by the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean for its pelt and meat. ''Neocnus'' is suspected of having been semi-arboreal.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6992206 Prehistoric sloths Pleistocene xenarthrans Pleistocene mammals of North America Prehistoric placental genera category:Mammals of the Caribbean Mammals of Hispaniola category:Mammals of Cuba Extinct animals of Haiti Extinct animals of the Dominican Republic category:Mammals of the Dominican Republic category:Mammals of Haiti

See also

References