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Description
The Panamerican Ground Sloth (Eremotherium laurillardi) is possibly the largest sloth and largest Xenarthran that has ever lived! It lived during the Pleistocene until possibly the early Holocene (some 2.5 mya-10 kya) in North, Central and South America (notably Brazil and Florida). This is probably my favorite mammal ever. It was a very successful species as well!

★TAXONOMÍA y EVOLUCIÓN★

It belongs to the sloth family, Megatheriidae, which includes the more well-known species, Megatherium americanum of S. and Central South America, as well as the more minute species, Diabolotherium nordenskioldi of the Andes. This family of sloths is most regarded for its intimidating and unfuckwithable body plans (well, aside from Diabolotherium, which may have been an arboreal species), thanks to the elephantine stature of Megatherium and Eremotherium, wide pelvis, huge hands, huge claws, and powerful chompers for their vegetarian foraging.

I think that an earlier species, E. eomigrans, migrated into North America before the latter species instead of being ancestral. It's interesting to think that the latter species came and outcompeted and eventually replaced E. eomigrans in North America, as it is much more derived - though it's only a speculation.

Proeremotherium sp. was likely ancestral to E. laurillardi and lived from the Miocene until the lower Pliocene, foreshadowing millions of years of success for its descendants.

The closest living relatives to E. laurillardi are the Three-toed Bradypus sloths.

★DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY★

E. laurillardi was ~20 feet in length, ~6 ft. at the shoulder while quadrapedal, and ~12-13 ft. while on its hindlegs. It weighed up to an estimated ~3+ tons in the largest specimens. Male and female E. laurillardi were sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and more robust.

Eremo's wide pelvis enabled them to easily shift from quadriped to biped with ease, most likely to reach higher levels of vegetation. Unlike the other memebers of the family, E. laurillardi had huge arms and hands, and only retained digits 3, 4, and 5 - with digits 3 and 4 being the only ones with claws, and five being a vestigial (for lack of a better word) stump claw. To maintain the effectiveness and sharpness of their claws, the animals walked on the sides of their hands and feet (with the claws of the latter preventing plantigrade function). Another cool feature of Eremo is a short, sturdy tail that trailed behind them that likely aided them in when they shifted to a bipedal stance.

They lived everywhere from grasslands to forests.

One aspect that I adore about Eremotherium laurillardi is that it was an extremely adaptable and generalist feeder, a factor in their insane success. It sported powerful chompers that took down C3 and C4 plants, including leaves, fruits, grass, and twigs (Dantas et al. 2021).

★WHY I PORTRAYED IT THIS WAY★

This pattern was inspired by black bear and other forest animals from across the globe. Living in forests and swampy habitats of North America, a dark coloration could be of advantage for avoiding confrontation with potential predators (i.e. Smilodon sp. or Panthera sp.).

Description
The Panamerican Ground Sloth (Eremotherium laurillardi) is possibly the largest sloth and largest Xenarthran that has ever lived! It lived during the Pleistocene until possibly the early Holocene (some 2.5 mya-10 kya) in North, Central and South America (notably Brazil and Florida). This is probably my favorite mammal ever. It was a very successful species as well!

★TAXONOMÍA y EVOLUCIÓN★

It belongs to the sloth family, Megatheriidae, which includes the more well-known species, Megatherium americanum of S. and Central South America, as well as the more minute species, Diabolotherium nordenskioldi of the Andes. This family of sloths is most regarded for its intimidating and unfuckwithable body plans (well, aside from Diabolotherium, which may have been an arboreal species), thanks to the elephantine stature of Megatherium and Eremotherium, wide pelvis, huge hands, huge claws, and powerful chompers for their vegetarian foraging.

I think that an earlier species, E. eomigrans, migrated into North America before the latter species instead of being ancestral. It's interesting to think that the latter species came and outcompeted and eventually replaced E. eomigrans in North America, as it is much more derived - though it's only a speculation.

Proeremotherium sp. was likely ancestral to E. laurillardi and lived from the Miocene until the lower Pliocene, foreshadowing millions of years of success for its descendants.

The closest living relatives to E. laurillardi are the Three-toed Bradypus sloths.

★DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY★

E. laurillardi was ~20 feet in length, ~6 ft. at the shoulder while quadrapedal, and ~12-13 ft. while on its hindlegs. It weighed up to an estimated ~3+ tons in the largest specimens. Male and female E. laurillardi were sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and more robust.

Eremo's wide pelvis enabled them to easily shift from quadriped to biped with ease, most likely to reach higher levels of vegetation. Unlike the other memebers of the family, E. laurillardi had huge arms and hands, and only retained digits 3, 4, and 5 - with digits 3 and 4 being the only ones with claws, and five being a vestigial (for lack of a better word) stump claw. To maintain the effectiveness and sharpness of their claws, the animals walked on the sides of their hands and feet (with the claws of the latter preventing plantigrade function). Another cool feature of Eremo is a short, sturdy tail that trailed behind them that likely aided them in when they shifted to a bipedal stance.

They lived everywhere from grasslands to forests.

One aspect that I adore about Eremotherium laurillardi is that it was an extremely adaptable and generalist feeder, a factor in their insane success. It sported powerful chompers that took down C3 and C4 plants, including leaves, fruits, grass, and twigs (Dantas et al. 2021).

★WHY I PORTRAYED IT THIS WAY★

This pattern was inspired by black bear and other forest animals from across the globe. Living in forests and swampy habitats of North America, a dark coloration could be of advantage for avoiding confrontation with potential predators (i.e. Smilodon sp. or Panthera sp.).