megatherium

meg·a·the·ri·um

M5212100 (mĕg′ə-thîr′ē-əm)n. A large extinct ground sloth of the genus Megatherium of the Miocene Epoch through the Pleistocene Epoch.

[New Latin Megathērium, genus name : mega- + Greek thērion, wild beast; see treacle.]

meg·a·the·ri·um

(mĕg′ə-thîr′ē-əm) A large, extinct ground sloth that lived from the Miocene through the Pleistocene Epochs, primarily in South America. It was as large as an elephant, had long curved claws, and ate plants.

Thesaurus

Noun

Megatherium - type genus of the Megatheriidae genus Megatheriummammal genus - a genus of mammalsfamily Megatheriidae, Megatheriidae - extinct ground slothsground sloth, megathere - gigantic extinct terrestrial sloth-like mammal of the Pliocene and Pleistocene in America

megatherium

enUK

megatherium

(mĕgəthēr`ēəm) [Gr.,=large beast], extinct ground sloth, of the genus Megatherium, that was widely distributed in North and South America in the Pleistocene epoch. Fossil evidence shows that these mammals became extinct comparatively recently, about the time that the first explorers reached the New World. A huge beast, the megatherium attained a length of 18 ft (5.5 m) and probably weighed several tons. The hind legs and tail were massive, the forelegs slender and supple; the animal probably supported itself much of the time in a semierect position on its hind legs and tail and used its forelegs to pull from trees the foliage on which it fed. The megatherium is classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Edentata, family Megatheriidae.

Megatherium

a genus of fossil mammals of the order Edentata; giant ground sloths. Remains, including complete skeletons, have been found in Pleistocene deposits of North and South America. Megatherium had a massive trunk measuring up to 6 m long and short legs. It fed on leaves and young shoots, which it obtained by standing upright and, resting on its powerful tail, bending the branches with the long curved claws of its forelimbs.

megatherium

meg·a·the·ri·um

meg·a·the·ri·um

megatherium

megatherium

Megatherium

Megatherium

Synonyms for Megatherium

noun type genus of the Megatheriidae

Synonyms

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