Common Name: Giant Ground Sloth Tooth Fossil
Genus/Species: Megalonyx jeffersonii
Age: 2.4 Million - 11,000 Years old
Period: Pleistocene
Formation: Alachua
Location: Taylor County, Florida, USA
This is a Prehistoric Ice Age Giant Ground Sloth Molar or Tooth. The tooth is dark black in color with shiny black enamel. It is a solid tooth specimen with a well defined chewing surface. Natural break at base of tooth with other natural wear. Classic Sloth Megalonyx Tooth. Actual Specimen Pictured, no repairs or restorations, & Guaranteed Authentic. This is a fine example of an extinct mammal that is part of the Pleistocene Megafauna of Florida.
The Prehistoric Ground Sloth had a height of 10ft. (3M). Bear-like in size, with long hair, it fed on a herbivores diet of twigs, shrubs and leaves. This megafauna mammal lived in moist forests. It had a wide and strong tail to give it support when reaching for taller branches while foraging for food. Its teeth may have been designed to strip leaves off of trees and it’s very large and long claws were used for digging tubers.
Jeffersons Ground Sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii was widely distributed in North America, reaching as far as Alaska. They migrated from Central America during the Miocene Period to Florida. They were a distant relative of today’s 2-3 foot tree sloths that lives in South America. No one is sure if these Giant Ground Sloths moved as slowly as their modern cousins do.
The shape of the hip bone gives evidence to the fact that this ice-age mammal could stand up on their back legs which gave them a decisive advantage for reaching higher leaves. This Prehistoric Creatures protection came mainly from its size and large claws. Megalonyx jeffersonii became extinct about 11,000 Years ago.
Size: .95" W x 2.18" L x .69" Thickness
Price: SOLD
Item #: SLOTH015
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