🔥 10 Big Facts About Giant Ground Sloths | Mental Floss

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Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. Ground sloths were able to stand up on their hind legs, in order to reach the leaves and twigs they wanted to eat. Even some "hyperdisease" has been suggested to explain their demise. Some scientists have proposed that the caves were used as nurseries, since fossils from juvenile sloths have been found there. In modern mammals, similar structures are only seen in the armadillos. Large hyoid bones in some sloths' throats suggest that some may have had well-developed, prehensile tongues similar to that of a giraffe, that aided in feeding. For example, they also lack front teeth and have long claws, which they use to hang upside down from tree branches for hours at a time. Suggested Reading Jefferson, George T. Remains of ground sloths are often found in caves or sinkholes. Further Research Why did the ground sloths become extinct at the end of the Pleistocene along with so many other big mammals? Modern sloths live in the forests of South America. Shasta ground sloths lacked front teeth and the other teeth in their tubular snout were small and blunt. Search for. Other researchers credit human predation and habitat disruption for the extinction of the sloths. Some paleontologists say that climate changes altered sloths' favored plant communities. Huge claws on their feet were a striking feature. The fossils were found in in a cave in West Virginia. Giant Sloth.{/INSERTKEYS}{/PARAGRAPH} Within caves, complete sloth skeletons with hair, skin and tendons still attached to the bones have been found. Fossilized dung has also been excavated from many caves, including that of both Nothrotheriops shastensis and N. Much more research is needed to find the answers. These ossicles across the shoulders, neck and back must have functioned like a coat of armor, adding an extra layer of protection to the thick skin and coarse hair covering the sloth's body. Because of this, scientists believe that ground sloths must have walked with a waddling motion. They also could have squatted on their haunches to pull down higher branches off trees if needed. Did the caves provide shelter at night, or during the extreme heat of the day? Conditions in caves are such that many tissues that would not normally be preserved, such as skin, nails, and other dried soft tissues, are naturally mummified and preserved. Why did these animals use caves? These animals were especially adapted to life in arid regions. Perhaps they used caves to secure a more stable environment in terms of humidity, as well as temperature. {PARAGRAPH}{INSERTKEYS}Their living relatives include the tree sloths, and more distantly the anteaters, and armadillos. They are nocturnal animals, have a very low rate of metabolism, and move around very little. Although they are much smaller than the extinct species, they retain some similarities. Found frequently in reptiles, these ossicles are extremely rare in mammals. Due to a special modification of the foot, the weight of the animal was actually borne by the heel bone and the outside edge of the foot. The three genera that lived in our region may have specialized in different food sources, thus eliminating one possible source of competition. Yet another theory suggests that sloths used caves as a source for special minerals in their diets. Unlike living tree sloths, the extinct sloths were large, ponderous animals that presumably spent all their time on the ground. Martin, Paul S. Berkeley: University of California Press, Ltd. It is possible that the sloths may have spent the day in caves and gone out to feed at night.