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Megatherium (/ m ɛ ɡ ə ˈ θ ɪər i ə m / meg-ə-THEER-ee-əm; from Greek méga 'great' + theríon (θηρίον) 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene [1] through the end of the Late Pleistocene. [2]
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. They varied widely in size with the largest, belonging to genera Lestodon, Eremotherium and Megatherium, being around the size of elephants. Ground sloths represent a paraphyletic group, as living tree sloths are thought to have evolved from ground sloth ...
Sloths are almost helpless on the ground but are able to swim. [4] The shaggy coat has grooved hair that is host to symbiotic green algae which camouflage the animal in the trees and provide it nutrients. The algae also nourish sloth moths, some species of which exist solely on sloths. [5]
Eremotherium laurillardi skeleton at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Eremotherium was slightly larger than the closely related Megatherium in size, reaching an overall length of 6 metres (20 ft) and a height of 2 metres (6.6 ft) while on all fours, possibly up to 4 metres (13 ft) when it reared up on its hind legs. [25]
Unfortunately, the bulk of sloth species that once roamed the earth -- some of which grew to be the size of elephants -- cannot say the same. Long ago, there Sloths were once as large as elephants
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PART MUST COURTESY GEORGIA TECH. For Reuters customers only. It looks like a sloth and behaves like a sloth. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR MAGNUS EGERSTEDT, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ...
Megalonyx (Greek, "great-claw") is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae, native to North America.It evolved during the Pliocene Epoch and became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene, living from ~5 million to ~13,000 years ago. [3]