Megatherium (/ m ɛ ɡ ə ˈ θ ɪər i ə m / meg-ə-THEER-ee-əm; from Greek méga 'great' + theríon (θηρίον) 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene [1] through the end of the Late Pleistocene. [2]

2024年3月9日 · Measuring up to 7 feet tall and 20 feet long, the Megatherium was a giant ground sloth that thrived in South America. Could it still be alive today? The giant sloth weighed as much as two cars and existed for some 5.3 million years before they — allegedly — went extinct.

2024年12月31日 · Megatherium, largest of the ground sloths, an extinct group of mammals belonging to a group containing sloths, anteaters, glyptodonts, and armadillos that underwent a highly successful evolutionary radiation in South America in the Cenozoic Era (beginning 65.5 million years ago).

2018年11月22日 · Megatherium americanum is the scientific name for an extinct species of giant ground sloth. The name means 'great beast from America'. Discovered in 1787 by Manuel Torres in Argentina, the first M. americanum fossils were shipped to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias in Madrid, where the original skeleton is still on display.

2022年3月28日 · The Giant Ground Sloth, also known as the Megatherium, was a genus of enormous rhino-sized ground sloths (as opposed to the modern-day tiny tree sloths) that were indigenous to South America and migrated and spread …

2019年11月25日 · Megatherium is the poster genus for the giant megafauna mammals of the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs: this prehistoric sloth was as big as an elephant, about 20 feet long from head to tail and weighing in the neighborhood of two to three tons.

2010年5月18日 · It was fossil mammals, not dinosaurs, which enthralled the public during the turn of the 19th century, and arguably the most famous was the enormous ground sloth Megatherium. It was more than...

Paleontologists have identified an amazing variety of fossils of at least 23 different kinds and sizes of prehistoric sloths. The largest and grandest of these was the Megatherium, the extinct genus of the family Bradypodidae. This giant stood seven meters tall and weighed seven tons.

2025年1月18日 · These colossal creatures could reach up to 20 feet in length and weigh several tons, making them one of the largest land mammals to have ever existed. Unlike the small, tree-dwelling sloths of today, the Megatherium walked on the ground, supported by its massive hind legs and sturdy tail, which provided balance.