PrehistoricFlorida Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 This is a metacarpal (finger, yes, FINGER) bone from the massive giant ground sloth (Eremotherium). It's crazy to think that this finger bone is almost the size of my head!! The Eremotherium was truly a massive beast that rivaled even the mastodons in size and likely did not have any predators once full grown. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Their skeletal elements are so...twisted and tortured looking... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 Their skeletal elements are so...twisted and tortured looking... I agree, it's hard to picture this digit having much of a range of motion. But, that is why they're in the superorder Xenarthra which means "strange joints". www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I agree, it's hard to picture this digit having much of a range of motion. But, that is why they're in the superorder Xenarthra which means "strange joints". It's hard to picture the size of that foot. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 They walked on the "backs" of their "hands"...strange adaptation. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoPutz Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 What a world it would be to see things like that walking around. Impressive..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) I'd say a large Mastodon had nothing on a large Eremotherium. The one discovered at the Leisey Shell pits in 1993 (parts of it are currently at the Black Hills Institute, still in the jackets) had a 23" claw and the measurement between (but not including) the wrist and shoulder was approx 9 feet! I'd assume that was the one they say could stand 21 feet tall. At the time it was "unofficially" (but more than likely) the largest (by mass) individual land mammal ever discovered in the Western hempisphere. The claw and 7 teeth are in private hands, as far as I know. About 60% of the skeleton was found by various collectors, if I remember correctly. I tried digging up as much info on the specimen as I could, but the majority of the good stuff is STILL in the jackets, the Royal Ontario Museum said Gord Edmund never saw the fossil (though inside sources and newspaper articles say he actually did) and multiple collectors were involved. Eremotherium is my favorite. A beast among beasts. Excellent bone, That's a keeper for sure. Edited August 16, 2011 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FF7_Yuffie Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 That's huge! Great find I bet it would hate to see how pathetic it's descendent sloths turned out to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now