Mylodonopsis

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Mylodonopsis
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: Mylodontidae
Subfamily: Mylodontinae
Genus: Mylodonopsis
Cartelle 1991
Type species
Mylodonopsis ibseni
Cartelle 1991

Mylodonopsis is an extinct genus of ground sloth, containing a single species, Mylodonopsis ibseni from the Late Pleistocene of Brazil. It is a member of the family Mylodontidae. Although only known from fragmentary fossil remains, it has been proposed to be closely related to Mylodon . [1]

Palaeobiology

It is suggested to have been a mixed feeder, being capable of both browsing and grazing. [2] Two M. ibseni haemal arches and a caudal vertebra recovered from Gruta dos Brejões show evidence of palaeopathologies in the form of eroded articular surfaces. [3]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground sloth</span> Diverse group of extinct sloth species

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mylodontidae</span> Extinct family of ground sloths

Mylodontidae is a family of extinct South American and North American ground sloths within the suborder Folivora of order Pilosa, living from around 23 million years ago (Mya) to 11,000 years ago. This family is most closely related to another family of extinct ground sloths, Scelidotheriidae, as well as to the extant arboreal two-toed sloths, family Choloepodidae; together these make up the superfamily Mylodontoidea. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphology uncovered the relationship between Mylodontidae and Scelidotheriidae; in fact, the latter was for a time considered a subfamily of mylodontids. However, molecular sequence comparisons were needed for the correct placement of Choloepodidae. These studies have been carried out using mitochondrial DNA sequences as well as with collagen amino acid sequences. The latter results indicate that Choloepodidae is closer to Mylodontidae than Scelidotheriidae is. The only other living sloth family, Bradypodidae, belongs to a different sloth radiation, Megatherioidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scelidotheriidae</span> Extinct family of prehistoric ground sloths

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Neonematherium is an extinct genus of scelidotheriid ground sloths that lived in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia during the Early to Late Miocene. Fossils have been found in the Honda Group of Colombia, and the Río Frías Formation of Chile.

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References

  1. Haro, José A.; Tauber, Adan A.; Krapovickas, Jerónimo M. (2 September 2016). "The manus of mylodon darwinii Owen (Tardigrada, Mylodontidae) and its phylogenetic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 36 (5): e1188824. Bibcode:2016JVPal..36E8824H. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1188824. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   89036115 . Retrieved 5 May 2024 via Taylor and Francis Online.
  2. Dantas, Mário A.T.; Santos, Adaiana M.A. (August 2022). "Inferring the paleoecology of the Late Pleistocene giant ground sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region". Journal of South American Earth Sciences . 117: 103899. Bibcode:2022JSAES.11703899D. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2022.103899 . Retrieved 5 May 2024 via Elsevier Science Direct.
  3. Barbosa, Fernando H. de S.; Porpino, Kleberson de O.; Araújo-Júnior, Hermínio I. de; Bergqvist, Lilian P.; Rothschild, Bruce M. (13 September 2017). "Articular and vertebral lesions in the Pleistocene sloths (Xenarthra, Folivora) from the Brazilian Intertropical Region". Historical Biology . 31 (5): 544–558. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1376191. ISSN   0891-2963 . Retrieved 5 May 2024 via Taylor and Francis Online.