This is a BEAUTIFUL, Huge Caudal Vertebra (Tail Bone) from Paramylodon harlani, a Ground Sloth from the Pleistocene of Peace River, Florida! The bone is in fantastic condition and measures 6.42 inches (16.3 cm) wide, 5.33 inches (13.54 cm) tall, and 3.32 inches (8.43 cm) long with incredible processes and zero repair or restoration!
One of the most iconic Ice Age Mammals, Ground Sloths are several groups of large ground dwelling animals within the sloth family (suborder Folivora). They first appeared about 35 million years ago and spread out throughout South America, the Caribbean, and eventually North America about 2.7 million years ago. Unlike the notoriously slow tree sloths, ground sloths were huge active herbivores with some species reaching the size of modern elephants! Like modern tree sloths, ground sloths had long arms with huge claws. However, while their arboreal contemporaries used these traits to cling to trees, ground sloths used their clawed arms to pull down branches (if not entire trees) to snack on leaves, dig up roots, and deliver a fearsome blow to any predator that dared harass one!
Paramylodon first appeared in the fossil record about 4.9 million years ago. During this time, the species got progressively larger eventually reaching nearly ten feet long and weighing over 3000 pounds! Paramylodon was a member of the Mylodontidae family, a family of ground sloths very closely related to the modern Two-Toed Sloth. This family is also known to have boney plates embedded in their skin! It went extinct at the end of the Ice Age about 11 thousand years ago.
A great opportunity to own a piece of the most iconic Ice Age mammal!
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Species: Paramylodon harlani
Size: 6.42 inches (16.3 cm) wide, 5.33 inches (13.54 cm) tall, and 3.32 inches (8.43 cm) long
Found: Peace River, Florida
Age: 4.9 million-11 thousand years old
Repair: none