Megalocnus

Megalocnus
Temporal range: 126–5 ka
↓
Late Pleistocene to Holocene
Megalocnus rodens, collected from Cienfuegos, Cuba. At the AMNH.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: †Megalocnidae
Genus: †Megalocnus
Leidy, 1868
Type species
†Megalocnus rodens
Leidy, 1868

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)[1] to 200 kg (440 lbs), around the size of a black bear when alive.[2] Its relatives include other megalocnid sloths, such as Acratocnus, Mesocnus, Miocnus, Neocnus and Parocnus.[3] The former species M. zile from Hispaniola is currently thought to be a junior synonym of Parocnus serus.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Steadman, D. W., Martin, P. S., MacPhee, R. D., Jull, A. T., McDonald, H. G., Woods, C. A., ... & Hodgins, G. W. (2005). Asynchronous extinction of late Quaternary sloths on continents and islands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(33), 11763-11768.
  3. ^ Presslee, S.; Slater, G. J.; Pujos, F.; Forasiepi, A. M.; Fischer, R.; Molloy, K.; Mackie, M.; Olsen, J. V.; Kramarz, A.; Taglioretti, M.; Scaglia, F.; Lezcano, M.; Lanata, J. L.; Southon, J.; Feranec, R.; Bloch, J.; Hajduk, A.; Martin, F. M.; Gismondi, R. S.; Reguero, M.; de Muizon, C.; Greenwood, A.; Chait, B. T.; Penkman, K.; Collins, M.; MacPhee, R.D.E. (2019). "Palaeoproteomics resolves sloth relationships" (PDF). Nature Ecology & Evolution. 3 (7): 1121–1130. Bibcode:2019NatEE...3.1121P. doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0909-z. PMID 31171860. S2CID 174813630.
  4. ^ McAfee, Robert K.; Beery, Sophia M. (2019-06-04). "Intraspecific variation of Megalonychid sloths from Hispaniola and the taxonomic implications". Historical Biology. 33 (3): 371–386. doi:10.1080/08912963.2019.1618294. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 195403443.