Lestodon

Lestodon
Temporal range: Early Pliocene-Early Holocene (Montehermosan-Lujanian)
~5.332–0.10 Ma
L. armatus skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: Mylodontidae
Subfamily: Mylodontinae
Tribe: Lestodontini
Genus: Lestodon
Gervais 1855
Species

L. armatus Gervais 1855, type

Lestodon is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth native to South America during the Pleistocene epoch. Its fossil remains have been primarily been found in the Pampas and adjacent regions. The largest member of the family Mylodontidae,[1] It is estimated to have weighed 4,100 kilograms (4.5 short tons). It was a herbivore and primarily fed on the grasses and low-growing plants.

  1. ^ Tomassini, Rodrigo L.; Montalvo, Claudia I.; Garrone, Mariana C.; Domingo, Laura; Ferigolo, Jorge; Cruz, Laura E.; Sanz-Pérez, Dánae; Fernández-Jalvo, Yolanda; Cerda, Ignacio A. (2020-07-02). "Gregariousness in the giant sloth Lestodon (Xenarthra): multi-proxy approach of a bonebed from the Last Maximum Glacial of Argentine Pampas". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 10955. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1010955T. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67863-0. hdl:10261/233402. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7331707. PMID 32616813.