Hapalops

Hapalops
Temporal range: Early-Late Miocene (Santacrucian-Huayquerian)
~17.5–7.246 Ma
Hapalops ruetimeyeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Xenarthra
Family: †Megatheriidae
Subfamily: †Schismotheriinae
Genus: Hapalops
Ameghino, 1887
Species
  • H. adteger
  • H. angustipalatus
  • H. antistis
  • H. brachycephalus
  • H. brevipalatus
  • H. cadens
  • H. cilindricus
  • H. congermanus
  • H. crassidens
  • H. crassignathus
  • H. depressipalatus
  • H. diverssidens
  • H. ellipticus
  • H. elongatus
  • H. gallaicus
  • H. gracilidens
  • H. indifferens
  • H. latus
  • H. longiceps
  • H. longipalatus
  • H. longipes
  • H. minutus
  • H. robustus
  • H. rutimeyeri
  • H. subcuadratus
  • H. testudinatus
Life restoration of Hapalops longiceps and Propalaehoplophorus australis
Skeleton

Hapalops is an extinct genus of ground sloth from the Early to Late Miocene of Brazil (Solimões Formation), Bolivia (Honda Group), Colombia (Honda Group),[1] and Argentina (Santa Cruz Formation) in South America.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Croft, 2007, p.300
  2. ↑ Hapalops at Fossilworks.org
  3. ↑ White, J. 1993. Indicators of locomotor habits in Xenarthrans: Evidence for locomotor heterogeneity among fossil sloths. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 13(2): 230-242
  4. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 207. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  5. ↑ "404 - File or directory not found" (in Spanish). Retrieved August 10, 2015.

Bibliography

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