In Argentina, Paleontologists have discovered one of the oldest-known fossils of the Ground Sloth Megatherium. The news was reported by Mr. Enrico de Lazaro in the Sci-News on 3rd Feb 2021.
Ground Sloth Megatherium
Megatherium is an extinct genus of Ground Sloths that lived in South America from the early Pliocene Epoch (about 5 million years ago) through the end of the Pleistocene Epoch (about 11,700 years ago). Megatherium Altiplanicum are the earliest and smallest known species of the genus from Pliocene of Bolivia.
It is best known for the elephant-sized Megatherium Americanum, called the “Giant Ground Sloth”. They were natives of Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia during the Pleistocene. Weighing up to 4 tons, with a size 10 times the size of Living Sloths, they were able to stand and walk on its hind legs. This made them the largest Bipedal Mammal of all time.
Footprints attributed to Megatherium Americanum dating to around 14,000 years old were found in Argentina. These animals mostly lived in groups and could also have lived singly in caves.
Read the full report of the discovery here
