Giant ground sloth skeleton (cast), Eremotherium laurillardi

Common Name: Giant ground sloth skeleton
Scientific Name: Eremotherium laurillardi
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Xenarthra
Family: Megatheriidae
Image Number: ROM2007_9476_3

Description:
Eremotherium laurillardi lived during the Late Pleistocene, between about 1 million and 10, 000 years ago. It became extinct 10,000 years ago, meaning that this species of giant ground sloth was contemporaneous with Homo sapiens. One of the largest species of ground sloth, it was similar in size to a modern-day elephant weighing 4 to 5 tonnes as an adult. This herbivore, browsed in wooded areas in North and South America, using its long curved claws to pull down branches, twigs and leaves. This particular specimen was cast from bones excavated by a ROM field team at Daytona Beach, Florida.