Posts tagged megatherium

al

thagomizers:

Megatherium americanum (“great beast”)
Chordata/Mammalia/Pilosa/Megatheriidae

  • Late Pliocene/late Pleistocene (2 Ma - 10,000 years)
  • 22 ft in length and 5 tons
Described in 1796
Location : Central and south America
Diet : Omnivore

thagomizers

biomedicalephemera: “Great Beast” (Megatherium) skeleton, from George Shaw’s Zoological Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution, 1800.  Megatherium americana was one of the few species of South American megafauna to not die out soon after the Great American Interchange at the beginning of the Pliocine era, and there’s evidence that it was encountered and hunted by early humans, especially after it expanded northwards into southern North America. The size of a bull elephant, Megatherium were largely quadrupeds, but could use their massive tail as a tripod-like base to allow themselves to stand on their hind legs and pull down the choicest branches of leaves. Their somewhat smaller (rhino-sized) ancestor Promegatherium is believed to be a direct ancestor of both Megatherium and modern-day sloths. 

biomedicalephemera:

“Great Beast” (Megatherium) skeleton, from George Shaw’s Zoological Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution, 1800. 

Megatherium americana was one of the few species of South American megafauna to not die out soon after the Great American Interchange at the beginning of the Pliocine era, and there’s evidence that it was encountered and hunted by early humans, especially after it expanded northwards into southern North America.

The size of a bull elephant, Megatherium were largely quadrupeds, but could use their massive tail as a tripod-like base to allow themselves to stand on their hind legs and pull down the choicest branches of leaves. Their somewhat smaller (rhino-sized) ancestor Promegatherium is believed to be a direct ancestor of both Megatherium and modern-day sloths. 

biomedicalephemera:

Megatherium americanum - The Giant Ground Sloth

The skeleton of Megatherium set up in the London Natural History Museum, and a depiction of a possibility of Megatherium behavior in life.

Though the population was already decreasing when the first humans arrived in South America, the disappearance of the Giant Sloth was helped along by the new immigrants. Using mammoth-hunting skills, this large and lumbering creature was an ideal kill for a human tribe. It was one of the many Pleistocene megafauna that went extinct during the Quaternary extinctions.

Extinct monsters. H. N. Hutchinson, 1896.

Megatherium americanum - The Giant Ground Sloth

The skeleton of Megatherium set up in the London Natural History Museum, and a depiction of a possibility of Megatherium behavior in life.

Though the population was already decreasing when the first humans arrived in South America, the disappearance of the Giant Sloth was helped along by the new immigrants. Using mammoth-hunting skills, this large and lumbering creature was an ideal kill for a human tribe. It was one of the many Pleistocene megafauna that went extinct during the Quaternary extinctions.

Extinct monsters. H. N. Hutchinson, 1896.

Cuvier Day Pangolin, Armadillo, Sloth lovin’ on a branch, Armadillo Baron Cuvier described and analyzed a massive fossil found in Paraguay. By analyzing the skull and structure of the bones, Cuvier determined that not only was this an extinct animal, it was a giant sloth. This was one of the first species he used to demonstrate extinction.

Cuvier Day

Pangolin, Armadillo, Sloth lovin’ on a branch, Armadillo

Baron Cuvier described and analyzed a massive fossil found in Paraguay. By analyzing the skull and structure of the bones, Cuvier determined that not only was this an extinct animal, it was a giant sloth. This was one of the first species he used to demonstrate extinction.

“Great Beast” (Megatherium) skeleton, from George Shaw’s Zoological Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution, 1800.  Megatherium americana was one of the few species of South American megafauna to not die out soon after the Great American Interchange at the beginning of the Pliocine era, and there’s evidence that it was encountered and hunted by early humans, especially after it expanded northwards into southern North America. The size of a bull elephant, Megatherium were largely quadrupeds, but could use their massive tail as a tripod-like base to allow themselves to stand on their hind legs and pull down the choicest branches of leaves. Their somewhat smaller (rhino-sized) ancestor Promegatherium is believed to be a direct ancestor of both Megatherium and modern-day sloths. 

“Great Beast” (Megatherium) skeleton, from George Shaw’s Zoological Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution, 1800. 

Megatherium americana was one of the few species of South American megafauna to not die out soon after the Great American Interchange at the beginning of the Pliocine era, and there’s evidence that it was encountered and hunted by early humans, especially after it expanded northwards into southern North America.

The size of a bull elephant, Megatherium were largely quadrupeds, but could use their massive tail as a tripod-like base to allow themselves to stand on their hind legs and pull down the choicest branches of leaves. Their somewhat smaller (rhino-sized) ancestor Promegatherium is believed to be a direct ancestor of both Megatherium and modern-day sloths. 

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