Biology:Scelidotherium
Scelidotherium is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Scelidotheriidae, endemic to South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It lived from 3,300,000 to 12,000 years ago, between the Chapadmalalan and Lujanian faunal stages of South America.[1][2]
Description
It is characterized by an elongated, superficially anteater-like head. In fossil distribution, it is known from Argentina (Luján and Arroyo Seco Formations), Bolivia (Tarija Formation), Peru (San Sebastián Formation), Panama, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador.[3]
In his journal of The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin reports the finding of a nearly perfect fossil Scelidotherium in Punta Alta while travelling overland from Bahía Blanca to Buenos Aires in 1832. He allied it to the Megatherium. Owen (1840) recognized the true characters of the remains and named them Scelidotherium, which means "femur beast" to reflect the distinctive proportions of that skeletal element. They were 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) tall and might have weighed up to 850 kg (1,870 lb).[4]
Taxonomy
Scelidotherium was named by Owen (1840). It was assigned to Mylodontidae by Carroll (1988); and to Scelidotheriinae by Gaudin (1995) and Zurita et al. (2004).[5] Scelidotheriinae was elevated back to full family status by Presslee et al. (2019).[6]
Gallery
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Front view of Scelidotherium leptocephalum skeleton -
Scelidotherium sp. incomplete right hand -
Scelidotherium skull in situ in plaster jacket, Argentina, 1926. Collected on the second Marshall Field Paleontological Expedition.
References
- ↑ Scillato-Yané, Gustavo J.; Carlini, Alfredo A.; Vizcaíno, Sergio F.; Jaureguizar, Edgardo Ortiz (1995). "Los Xenartros". in Alberdi, M. T.; Leone, Gabriello; Tonni, Eduardo P. (in es). Evolución biológica y climática de la región pampeana durante los últimos cinco millones de años: un ensayo de correlación con el Mediterráneo Occidental. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. pp. 183–175. ISBN 978-84-00-07558-3.
- ↑ Carlini, Alfredo A.; Scillato-Yané, Gustavo J. (1999). "Evolution of Quaternary Xenarthrans (Mammalia) of Argentina". in Rabassa, Jorge; Salemme, Mónica. Quaternary of South America and Antarctic Peninsula. Rotterdam. pp. 149–175.
- ↑ "Scelidotherium in the Paleobiology Database". Fossilworks. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=43646.
- ↑ Bargo, MS, SF Vizcaíno, FM Archuby, and RE Blanco. 2000. Limb bone proportions, strength and digging in some Lujanian (Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene) Mylodontid ground sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20(3):601-610
- ↑ R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 1-698
- ↑ Presslee, S.; Slater, G. J.; Pujos, F.; Forasiepi, A. M.; Fischer, R.; Molloy, K.; Mackie, M.; Olsen, J. V. et al. (2019). "Palaeoproteomics resolves sloth relationships". Nature Ecology & Evolution 3 (7): 1121–1130. doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0909-z. PMID 31171860. Bibcode: 2019NatEE...3.1121P. http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/147061/1/5426_3_merged_1554730549.pdf.
Further reading
- Owen, R. (1840) Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle1, Fossil Mammalia.
Template:Pilosan genera Wikidata ☰ Q936352 entry
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