Giant Sloth Fossil Reveals How Creature Lived 27,000 Years Ago
28 February 2019, 6:41 am EST By Diane Samson Tech Times
The tooth of a giant sloth that grew to about 4 meters tall was discovered in Central America.
In a study, scientists discovered that the creature lived through a long dry season in its final
year. ( Tony Rath | University of Illinois )
The recent discovery of a fossilized tooth of an ancient giant sloth is helping scientists understand the environment 27,000 years ago and might help explain the extinction of megafauna in America.
A Year In The Life Of A Giant Sloth
The tooth was unearthed by divers in 2014 while in search for ancient Maya artifacts in Cara Blanca, Belize. Though partially fossilized, the tooth still has unaltered tissue that allowed for stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis.
From the fossilized tooth, scientists were able to figure out what the sloth ate in the last year of its life, which therefore revealed information about the local climate and environment in the region thousands of years ago.
"We began our study with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the landscape within which large mammals went extinct and humans emerged in central Belize," said Jean T. Larmon, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, who led the study. "In the process, we discovered which part of the tooth had best maintained its integrity for analysis. And we refined methods for studying similar specimens in the future."
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https://www.techtimes.com/articles/239022/20190228/giant-sloth-fossil-reveals-how-creature-lived-27-000-years-ago.htm
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