Ocnotherium

Ocnotherium
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: †Mylodontidae
Subfamily: †Mylodontinae
Genus: †Ocnotherium
Lund, 1842
Type species
Ocnotherium giganteum
(Lund, 1839)

Ocnotherium is an extinct genus of ground sloth known from the Late Pleistocene of Brazil, belonging to the family Mylodontidae, containing the species Ocnotherium giganteum. It is a member of the subfamily Mylodontinae, but its relationship to other members of that subfamily are uncertain.[1] It had osteoderms embedded within its skin, like some other mylodontids.[2] It was likely a mixed feeder,[3] and may have been adapted to digging.[4]

  1. ^ Boscaini, Alberto; Pujos, François; Gaudin, Timothy J. (November 2019). "A reappraisal of the phylogeny of Mylodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) and the divergence of mylodontine and lestodontine sloths". Zoologica Scripta. 48 (6): 691–710. doi:10.1111/zsc.12376. ISSN 0300-3256. S2CID 201194980.
  2. ^ Brambilla, Luciano; Toledo, Marcelo Javier; Haro, José Augusto; Aguilar, José Luis (November 2019). "New osteoderm morphotype (Xenarthra, Mylodontidae) from the middle Pleistocene of Argentina". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 95: 102298. Bibcode:2019JSAES..9502298B. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102298. S2CID 201317034.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Santos, Adaiana Marta Andrade; Mcdonald, H. Gregory; Dantas, Mário André Trindade (2023-05-22). "Inferences of the ecological habits of extinct giant sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region". Journal of Quaternary Science. doi:10.1002/jqs.3534. ISSN 0267-8179. S2CID 258873849.