İnsanın Güney Amerika’ya ayak basmasından sonra, doğada hiçbir düşmanı olmayan ve bitkiyle beslenen Dev Tembelhayvanın da soyu tükenmiş. #Megatherium

In honor of #FossilFriday here is Orra's depiction of #Megatherium or the Giant Ground Sloth. Megatherium was one of the earliest fossils discovered in the United States, identified from a claw found in a Virginia cave. Early naturalists like Thomas Jefferson mistook that claw for a lion's.

#sciencehistory #paleontology #geology #naturalhistory #womenshistory #americanhistory

At 12ft tall and weighing 8000lbs, today's #megafauna is the "great beast": Megatherium. This giant ground #sloth lived 400,000-8,000 years ago and was hunted by humans, as evidenced by cut marks on existing fossils.

#Megatherium lived in South America and could stand on its hind legs. Along with its long foreclaws, this ability helped megatherium reach leaves to munch on.

Megatherium #fossils were in #Darwin 's collection, and are available to view as 3-D scans through the UK NHM.

Lego megatherium for my wife on our anniversary. She loves the creatures in Ark. #lego #megatherium