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Size comparison of various ground sloths compared to a human, including Megatherium americanum (A, top left) Eremotherium laurillardi (B, top right), Lestodon armatus (C, middle left) Mylodon darwinii (D, middle right) Glossotherium robustum (E, bottom left) and Catonyx cf. C. cuvieri (F, bottom right)
Size of Megatherium americanum compared to a human M. americanum is one of the largest known ground sloths, with a total body length of around 6 metres (20 ft). [ 27 ] Volumetric analysis suggests that a full grown M. americanum weighed around 3,700–4,000 kilograms (8,200–8,800 lb), comparable to an Asian elephant.
The largest known pilosan is Eremotherium, a ground sloth with an estimated weight of up to 6.55 t (7.22 short tons) and a length of up to 6 m (20 ft), [252] which is as big as a bull African bush elephant. The closely related ground sloth Megatherium attained similarly large dimensions. [253]
Standing over 2 meters tall, with forelegs tipped with claws, giant sloths lived until around 11,000 years ago.
Scientists have uncovered evidence of ancient humans engaged in a deadly face-off with a giant sloth, showing for the first time how our ancestors might have tackled such a formidable prey.
[29] [30] As a ground-dwelling sloth, it had relatively shorter and stronger limbs compared to modern arboreal sloths and also had a longer tail. [31] Due to its large body size, it is suggested to have been sparsely covered in hair, or alternatively covered in a dense layer of 1 centimetre (0.39 in) thick hair. [32]
Size comparison of Mylodon darwini compared to a human. Mylodon was a large representative of the Mylodontidae.Its total length was estimated to be around 3 to 4 m. Based on the size of the skull, a weight between 1 and 2 tonnes is assumed, with an approximate estimate of 1.65 tonnes. [9]
Some of the most tantalizing clues come from an archaeological site in central Brazil, called Santa Elina, where bones of giant ground sloths show signs of being manipulated by humans. Sloths like these once lived from Alaska to Argentina, and some species had bony structures on their backs, called osteoderms — a bit like the plates of modern ...