Lestodon armatus (giant ground sloth) Description Skeleton of Lestodon armatus, a fossil ground sloth
Date April 2008
Source took the foto on the "American Museum of Natural History" in New York
Author Ghedoghedo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ghedoghedo
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lestodon_armatus_Ghedo.JPG
Lestodon is an extinct genus of megafaunal ground sloth from South America during the Pleistocene period. Its fossil remains have been found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. 4.6 m from snout to tail tip, it is estimated to have weighed 2,590 kilograms. It was a herbivore and primarily fed on the grasses on the South American plains and is thought to perhaps have used its semi-bipedal stance to obtain foliage from trees. Lestodon is placed as member of the Mylodontidae as indicated by the lobed form of the last tooth in the dentition. The genus name "Lestodon" derives from the Greek for "robber tooth." Superorder: Xenarthra, Order: Pilosa, Family: Mylodontidae, Subfamily: Lestodontinae, Genus: Lestodon, Species: Lestodon armatus.