Unlike modern sloths, which spend most of their time in trees, ground sloths spent all of their time on the ground.įor nearly two centuries there has been some controversy regarding how Harlan's ground sloth relates to other Pleistocene mylodont ground sloths, and particularly whether it belongs to the Glossotherium genus or Paramylodon genus. Ground sloths were large relatives of the modern two-toed sloths ( Choloepus spp.) and three-toed sloths ( Bradypus spp.). You can read about the other type, Jefferson's ground sloth, here. In the Midwest, most of them have been found in caves, including sites in Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.Harlan's ground sloth is a mylodont ground sloth and one of two types of ground sloth that has been recovered from late Pleistocene sites in the Midwest. They have also been found in California, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as northern Mexico. Some have been found as far north as Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada. Megalonyx fossils have been recovered from about 150 sites across North America, according to the Illinois State Museum. They likely relied on their robust hind feet, in combination with a stout tail, to support their massive bodies when rearing on their hindquarters to reach high into trees for forage, Wilkins explained. Their hind foot structure and posture of the ground sloths also helped it with meal time. "They had long curved claws, likely an adaptation for foraging for grabbing branches and stripping foliage from tree limbs, as well as for protection from predators," Wilkins told Live Science.
Their peg-like teeth were ideal for this diet, but they also had other body parts that played a large part in their meals. Ground sloths were herbivores, meaning they ate vegetation. Some argue that they were around for many more thousands of years (opens in new tab), though, surviving on islands in the Caribbean. This made for a very cold environment that few animals could endure.īy the end of the Great Ice Age, around 11,700 years ago, many believe that the giant ground sloths had become extinct. At its peak, as much as 30 percent of the Earth's surface was covered by glaciers and parts of the northern oceans were frozen, according to the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Giant ground sloths preferred forests along rivers or lakes, but they also lived during the Pleistocene period, also known as the Great Ice Age.
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