Giant Ground Sloth

By: Gweneth Ke & Emily Tham

Classification

Higher Class: Megatheride

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Mammalia

Order: Pilosa

Genus: Megatherium

Phylum: Chordata
Anatomy

● Can grow up to 20 feet/7 meters

● Weighed 7 tons
● Large hairy beast with big jaws
● Blunt snouts
● Clawed limbs
● Forelimbs are shorter than hind limbs
● Feet twist inward when walking
● High crowned teeth Human Comparison
Diet

● Omnivore
○ Ate a wide variety of plants
■ (For ex. Yucca, Agave, Grasses)
○ Ate small amounts of meat by hunting or scavenging

Agave
Yucca
Locomotion

● They were only thought to slowly prod around, but new discoveries have shown
that these animals were tree-climbers, swimmers, and burrowers.
● Some ground sloths in the West Indies lived in trees

Walking on its hind legs

Giant Ground Sloth in water
Habitat

● Originated in South America, but migrated to North America 8 million years ago
● Lived during the Great Ice Age
● Paramylodon: lived in open grass and in rivers and lakes.
● Nothrotheriops: lived in dry deserts and open savanas.
● Megalonyx: lived in forests along the river
Reproduction

● The Giant Ground Sloth used to reproduce sexually.

Enemies

● They were seen with mammoths but did not face competition for resources.
● Humans were a major factor of their extinction.
● Saber tooth tigers and dire wolves were also enemies towards the species

Saber Tooth Tiger

Dire Wolf
Protection/Adaptations

● They had sharp claws to protect itself, to grab food, and to climb trees.
● They had strong jaws for mashing the plant material that they ate.
● Thick fur for the cold
● Strong short hind legs and tail to support large upper body while it reached for
food.
Timeline

● They died during the Megafaunal Extinction (the last ice age) due to climate
change.
● They had been used to the cold climate.
● Most died 10,000 years ago but the latest they were seen was 5,000 years ago
in the Caribbean
Most Interesting Fact

● While we were researching our species the most interesting fact that we had
found was that even after most of their ice age counterparts died off, they were
still able to live in the Caribbean for the next 5,000 years.

Late surviving Giant Ground Sloth in the Caribbean

Natural Selection

● Climate change
● Human hunters

Human Hunting
Sources

https://www.livescience.com/56762-giant-ground-sloth.html

http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/_extinct/sloth_extinct/extinct_sloth.htm

http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/_extinct/sloth_extinct/extinct_sloth_sum
mary.htm

http://mentalfloss.com/article/77099/10-big-facts-about-giant-ground-sloths