Megalocnus
Sign in to saveMegalocnus ("great sloth" in Greek) is a genus of extinct ground sloths that were native to Cuba during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. They were among the largest of the Caribbean sloths (Megalocnidae), with individuals estimated to have weighed up to 270 kg (595 lbs) to 200 kg (440 lbs), around the size of a black bear when alive. Its relatives include other megalocnid sloths, such as Acratocnus, Mesocnus, Miocnus, Neocnus and Parocnus. The former species M. zile from Hispaniola is currently thought to be a junior synonym of Parocnus serus.
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Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History and taxonomy
- Fossil history
- Description and paleobiology
- Gallery
- See also
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Megalocnus ("great sloth" in Greek) is a genus of extinct ground sloths that were native to Cuba during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. They were among the largest of the Caribbean sloths (Megalocnidae), with individuals estimated to have weighed up to 270 kg (595 lbs) to 200 kg (440 lbs), around the size of a black bear when alive. Its relatives include other megalocnid sloths, such as Acratocnus, Mesocnus, Miocnus, Neocnus and Parocnus. The former species M. zile from Hispaniola is currently thought to be a junior synonym of Parocnus serus.
== Etymology == Megalocnus, the generic name, means "great sloth" after the similarities between the holotype's caniniformes with modern sloth's, while rodens means "rodent-like" due to the original misidentification of the fossils as those of a rodent.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Megalocnus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.