Dinosaurs & Prehistory - Other prehistoric animals - Megatherium - Ground sloths - Pleistocene - Extinct animals
Why was Megatherium able to stand up on its hind legs?
Correct!
Megatherium americanum was one of the largest known ground sloths. It could weigh up to about four tons - about the same as a large bull elephant. Raised on its hind legs, it reached a height of around 3.5 meters. Its massive hind legs and powerful tail allowed Megatherium to raise its front body. This allowed it to use its long forearms to reach higher vegetation and pull branches toward itself. The American Museum of Natural History also describes uprighting as a way to reach leaves and fruit on higher branches. Despite its massive claws, Megatherium was predominantly, or probably entirely, herbivorous, based on available isotope and dietary data. Chemical examinations of its teeth and further nutritional analyzes clearly indicate a herbivorous lifestyle. Megatherium lived in South America. Fossils of Megatherium americanum are known from Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia, among others. The species survived until approximately the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene and thus existed at the same time as humans in South America.
Megatherium could support itself with its hind legs and tail to reach higher-growing leaves, fruits, and branches.
