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Glossotherium
Temporal range: Late Pliocene–Early Holocene (Chapadmalalan/Uquian-Lujanian) ~3.3–0.010 Ma
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Skeleton in Natural History Museum, London
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Pilosa
Family:
†Mylodontidae
Subfamily:
†Mylodontinae
Tribe:
†Mylodontini
Genus:
†Glossotherium Owen 1840
Type species
†Glossotherium robustum
Owen, 1840
Other species
†G. phoenesis Cartelle et al., 2019
†G. tropicorum Hoffstetter, 1952
†G. chapadmalenseKraglievich[1]
†G. wegneri? Hoffstetter 1949
†G. tarijense Ameghino, 1902
Synonyms
EumylodonAmeghino 1904
PseudolestodonGervais & Ameghino 1880
Oreomylodon? Hoffstetter 1949
Glossotherium is an extinct genus of large mylodontid ground sloths of the subfamily Mylodontinae. It represents one of the best-known members of the family, along with Mylodon and Paramylodon. Reconstructed animals were between 3 and 4 metres (9.8 and 13.1 ft) long and possibly weighed up to 1,002.6–1,500 kg. The majority of finds of Glossotherium date from the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, around 300,000 to 10,000 years ago, with a few dating older, as far back Pliocene, about 3.3-3 million years ago.[2] The range included large parts of South America, east of the Andes roughly from latitude 20 to 40 degrees south, leaving out the Amazon Basin in the north. In western South America, finds are also documented north of the equator. The animals largely inhabited the open landscapes of the Pampas and northern savanna regions.
Like other mylodonts, Glossotherium was adapted to a more or less grassy diet, as indicated by the broad snout and the design of the teeth. This view is confirmed by isotopic analysis. The anatomical structure of their locomotor system suggests quadrupedal locomotion, but they were also capable of changing to a bipedal stance. The particularly strong construction of the forelimbs is remarkable, leading to the assumption that Glossotherium burrowed underground. Large fossil burrows with corresponding scratch marks support this assumption, possibly making it the largest known burrowing mammal ever. The structure of the auditory system shows that Glossotherium could perceive frequencies in infrasound and probably produce them with the help of its voluminous nasal cavity.
The research history of the genus is very complex. The first description was made in 1840 by Richard Owen. However, he discarded the genus name just two years later. Subsequently, this led to persistent confusion and equation with Mylodon and other forms, which was not resolved until the 1920s. Especially during the 20th century, Glossotherium was considered identical to the North American Paramylodon. It was not until the 1990s that it became widely accepted that the two genera are independent.
^Boscaini, Alberto; Toledo, Néstor; Pérez, Leandro M.; Taglioretti, Matías L.; McAfee, Robert K. (2022-11-01). "New well-preserved materials of Glossotherium chapadmalense (Xenarthra, Mylodontidae) from the Pliocene of Argentina shed light on the origin and evolution of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (2): e2128688. Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E8688B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2022.2128688. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 253286158.
^Boscaini, Alberto; Toledo, Néstor; Pérez, Leandro M.; Taglioretti, Matías L.; Mcafee, Robert K. (2022-08-31). "New well-preserved materials of Glossotherium chapadmalense (Xenarthra, Mylodontidae) from the Pliocene of Argentina shed light on the origin and evolution of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (2): e2128688. Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E8688B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2022.2128688. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 253286158.
Glossotherium is an extinct genus of large mylodontid ground sloths of the subfamily Mylodontinae. It represents one of the best-known members of the...
1950s increasingly with Glossotherium. Paramylodon shares numerous features that suggest a close relationship with Glossotherium. Only since the 1990s have...
65 tonnes. Thus, Mylodon had about the size of related forms such as Glossotherium or Paramylodon, but was significantly smaller than the giant Lestodon...
At the Santa Elina rockshelter in Mato Grosso Brazil, a specimen of Glossotherium is associated with hearths and stone tools, dating to 11,833–11,804...
fossils have been reported from the formation: Antifer Dusicyon avus Glossotherium robustum Gomphotheridae indet. Hippidion Lestodon armatus Lundomys molitor...
were only present in a handful of genera (Mylodon, Paramylodon and Glossotherium) and absent in others. The following sloth family phylogenetic tree...
along side the smaller (though still large) ground sloths Mylodon, Glossotherium Lestodon and Catonyx, the rhinoceros like ungulate Toxodon, the camel-like...
have reoccupied caves excavated by Xenarthra, such as the mylodonts Glossotherium and Scelidotherium, and the pampatheriid Pampatherium. As suitable paleoburrows...
Megalocnus rodens, Scelidotherium cuvieri, Megalonyx wheatleyi and Glossotherium robustus A Triceratops and a Stegosaurus are also both on display, among...
long, with claw marks from excavation referred to the ground sloths Glossotherium or Scelidotherium. Remains of ground sloths (Mylodon and others) in...
considered to be either a species or subgenus of Glossotherium (as G. wegneri) or a junior synonym of Glossotherium robustum, but studies of its cranial anatomy...
type genus is Lestodon, which sometimes also includes Paramylodon and Glossotherium (sometimes also listed as belonging to the tribes Mylodontini and Lestodontini...
Megatherium americanum and Lestodon the smaller ground sloths Scelidotherium, Glossotherium and Mylodon, the glyptodont Glyptodon, the equine Equus neogeus, the...
of the scelidothere Catonyx, and the mylodontid genera Mylodon and Glossotherium. Some other groups are known, including the unusual litopternans Macrauchenia...
frontal line was flat, lacking a dome-like bulge such as occurred in Glossotherium or Thinobadistes. The nasal bone was oriented slightly upwards. In anterior...
sloth Eremotherium, the fellow scelidotheriid Valgipes, the mylodontids Glossotherium, Ocnotherium, and Mylodonopsis. Smaller ground sloths such as the megalonychids...
Brazil Eutatus seguini 6389-6060 BCE Northern Argentina and Uruguay Glossotherium sp. 6810-6650 BCE South America Glyptodon sp. 6660-4880 BCE Eastern...
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