Hapalops
Hapalops Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Miocene | |
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Hapalops ruetimeyeri | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Xenarthra |
Family: | †Megatheriidae |
Subfamily: | †Schismotheriinae |
Genus: | Hapalops Ameghino, 1887 |
Species | |
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Hapalops is an extinct genus of ground sloth from the late Oligocene to Miocene of Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina in South America.
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Life restoration of Hapalops longiceps and Propalaehoplophorus australis
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Skeleton
Though related to the giant Megatherium, Hapalops was much smaller, measuring about 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length. Like most extinct sloths it is categorized as a ground sloth, but it is believed that the smaller size of Hapalops allowed it to engage in some climbing behaviors.[1]
Description
It had a robust body, short skull and long limbs with large, curved claws. When it did visit the ground the animal probably walked on the knuckles of its forelimbs, like a gorilla. Hapalops had very few teeth with no incisors, the mandible included only four pairs of teeth.[2][3]
References
- ↑ White, J. 1993. Indicators of locomotor habits in Xenarthrans: Evidence for locomotor heterogeneity among fossil sloths. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 13(2): 230-242
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 207. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ↑ "404 - File or directory not found" (in Spanish). Retrieved August 10, 2015.
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