Paramylodon
Name:
Paramylodon
(Near Mylodon).
Phonetic: Pah-rah-my-loe-don.
Named By: Barnum Brown - 1903.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Xenarthra,
Pilosa, Mylodontidae, Mylodontinae.
Species: P. harlani (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Roughly about 3 meters long.
Known locations: Canada, Guatemala, Mexico and
USA.
Time period: Pliocene through to the end of the
Pleistocene.
Fossil representation: Multiple specimens, some
almost complete.
Paramylodon
acquired its name from its close similarity to another ground sloth
called Mylodon.
This close similarity has led to questions as to if
they are actually separate genera since the original defining
characteristic of the two genera having a different dental formulae is
today no longer considered enough because the numbers of teeth in
Mylodon individuals can be seen to vary from one
case to another.
Later work by L. Kraglievich in 1928 helped to clear up the
definition differences between Mylodon and Paramylodon.
An
additional source of
confusion is a 1976 study by Robertson that declared Paramylodon
to
be a sub species of Glossotherium,
leading some at the time to change
the names of their specimens to Glossotherium harlani,
while since
this time other studies have questioned this action. So far most
researchers continue to treat Paramylodon as a
valid genus, though
future studies of Paramylodon and associated genera
may yet shake up
the genus.
At
three meters long
Paramylodon was mid-sized for a ground sloth, and
it seems to have
had bony growths that would have been just under the skin. These
would have provided Paramylodon with extra armour
and protection from
prehistoric predators such as Smilodon,
dire
wolves and lions
that
may have found Paramylodon to much bother to deal
with on a full time
basis. This is another similarity with the genus Mylodon;
however
one difference is the known geographic range of these two genera. So
far, Paramylodon is mostly only known from
North America and
parts of northern Central America.
Hapalops, Megalonyx, Eremotherium, Megatherium, Glossotherium, Mylodon, Paramylodon, Nothrotheriops.
Further reading
- Late Pleistocene mylodont sloth Paramylodon harlani
(Mammalia:
Xenarthra) from Arizona. - The Southwestern Naturalist 49 (2): 229–238.
- Gregory H. McDonald, Larry D. Agenbroad, Carol Manganaro Haden
& Cheri A. Jones - 2004.
- Reassessing the Taxonomy and Affinities of the Mylodontinae Sloths,
Glossotherium and Paramylodon
(Mammalia: Xenarthra: Tardigrada). -
Ph.D. Dissertation, Northern Illinois University. - R. K. McAfee -
2007.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random favourites
 |
 |
 |
 |