Sloth Teeth

[Shellseeker]

What a day of fossil hunting. Days like this come along once in a great while. Out with a frequent fossil hunting friend, we were both doing well on Horse, Hemis, Makos and Tigers and enjoying the success when late in the day, my partner yelled "Holy ****", which is the basic way we communicate a rare find to each other. Many of you know that I LOVE Sloth, but I was pleased he found something so rare (not quite as pleased as I would be if I found it, but still pleased) and shared his joy. About 30 minutes later, he had a chance to return the joy and did so with great enthusiasm.

http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/darwin/id/549

Unbelievable!!!! that we found these 30 minutes and 10 feet apart. Any chance that these are same animal? I think that both are Harlans. I am amazed at the small size of the jaw (4 inches long x 3 inches height) and teeth 23 mm occusal for back tooth and 9x12 mm for the other tooth.

[ZiggieCie]

Big time WOW!!!!!

[PrehistoricFlorida]

Both are Paramylodon. The jaw looks quite small, probably P. garbanii.

[Shellseeker]

Thanks Ziggie.. I did a jig when I found the mandible -- it was so small that for seconds I was stunned thinking how could it be anything else than Sloth..

and THANK YOU Nate. I will be educating myself on the internet about P. Garbanii. This Identification is new to me!

[ynot]

Amazing finds!!

Tony

PS Can We see some pictures of the other finds of the day?

[jlar7607]

Jack you are "da man" !!!

[Fossil Claw]

Way to start the year out with a bang!

Edited January 3, 2016 by Fossil Claw

[PaleoWilliam]

Awesome find!

[ElToro]

Very cool! I only just got my first sloth (Eremotherium) tooth as a bit of an impulse buy so read up a little about them. Whoa! Amazing critters! Would love to find one myself but I don't think there were any in Australia...

[Auspex]

<insert fossil hunters' code for "pardon me, but I seem to have found something rather nice">

VFOTM-worthy. Just sayin'...

[ElToro]

<insert fossil hunters' code for "pardon me, but I seem to have found something rather nice">

VFOTM-worthy. Just sayin'...

Yea, I rekon its a nominee!

[jcbshark]

Wow Jack, Awesome finds! Congrats!

[lissa318]

Fabulous finds!!! Congrats!

[Harry Pristis]

Both are Paramylodon. The jaw looks quite small, probably P. garbanii.

It seems to me improbable that this sloth jaw is from P. garbanii, a Blancan species that AFAIK hasn't been reported east of the Mississippi River. Furthermore, size is a dubious basis for assigning this specimen with two teeth. How can you determine that this is not a young P. harlani when sloth teeth start small and continue to increase in size as they mature?

[Shellseeker]

Harry, I am naturally enthused, not only in finding it, but in getting the correct ID, if possible. I took Nate's hint and started tracking the Internet. There are some (5-10) of P garbani fossils (claw, teeth, phalanx) advertised on ebay or Auction houses as coming from Florida. I realize that this does not mean very much, but then this scientific manual. THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE ON THE INTERNET about P.garbani, but there is some. We have also found three toed horse teeth at this site.

I agree that the key question is why this is not just a young P. harlani..

Thanks for your skill and assistance in helping to ID .. Jack

NEOGENE Mammals pp.116-117

edited by
Spencer G. Lucas, Gary S. Morgan,
Justin A. Spielmann and Donald R. Prothero

The earliest definitive records of Paramylodon are from several
early Blancan faunas in the San Miguel de Allende Basin in Guanajuato,
Mexico, including Arroyo El Tanque, the type locality of Glossotherium
(=Paramylodon) garbanii (Montellano-Ballesteros and Carranza
Castañeda, 1986) and the Garbani and Cuesta Blanca localities in the
Rancho Viejo area (Carranza-Castañeda and Miller, 2000; Carranza
Castañeda, 2006). Although Glossotherium was reported from the latest
Hemphillian El Ocote LF in the San Miguel de Allende Basin, this record
was based on a fibular fragment that is probably not diagnostic (Carranza
Castañeda, 2006). Robertson (1976) used the name Glossotherium
chapadmalense, here tentatively referred to Paramylodon garbanii, for
an associated maxilla, dentary, and partial postcranial skeleton of a small
mylodont from Haile 15A. Other Florida late Blancan records of
Paramylodon cf. P. garbanii consist of isolated teeth or postcranials,
including specimens from Macasphalt Shell Pit, Santa Fe River 1,
Kissimmee River, Lehigh Acres, and Acline Shell Pit (Morgan, 2005).
Most Florida sites containing P. cf. P. garbanii are early late Blancan in
age based on their association with Nannippus. Mylodont records from
non-Florida Blancan sites mostly consist of fragmentary remains, re
ferred in the literature to Paramylodon sp., Glossotherium sp., or G.

chapadmalense. If the original authors mentioned that specimens were
notably smaller than typical P.harlani, then these records are referred to
Paramylodon cf. P. garbanii. Otherwise, they are referred to Paramylodon
without a species designation. The northernmost late Blancan records of
Paramylodon are from the Broadwater LF in Nebraska (Skinner and
Hibbard, 1972) and the Birch Creek LF in Idaho (Hearst, 1995). Johnston
and Savage (1955) listed Glossotherium from the late Blancan Cita Can
yon LF in the Texas Panhandle, although the nature of the material is not
known. Akersten (1972) referred two isolated caniniform teeth, a partial
edentulous dentary, and a toe to Paramylodon sp. from the late Blancan
Red Light LF in the Tran-Pecos region of southwetsern Texas. Hager
(1975) reported a tooth and phalanx from the late Blancan Donnelly
Ranch LF in southeastern Colorado as Paramylodon sp. Dalquest (1975)
identified nine isolated mylodont teeth from the Blanco LF in the Texas
Panhandle that he noted were similar to teeth of G. chapadmalense from
Haile 15A, suggesting tentative referral to P. garbanii. Apartial mylodontid
femur from the early late Blancan Pearson Mesa LF in southwestern
New Mexico is referred to P. cf. P. garbanii based on its small size and
similarity to a femur from Haile 15A (Morgan and Lucas, 2000a; Morgan
et al., this volume). Galusha et al. (1984) listed Paramylodon from late
Blancan 111 Ranch, Arizona and Cassiliano (1999) recorded Glossotherium
sp. from the early late Blancan Anza-Borrego Desert in southern Califor
nia. A fairly complete but crushed skull from the latest Blancan La Union
Fauna in southern New Mexico is referred to Paramylodon cf. P. garbanii.
Although this is one of the few skulls of a Blancan mylodont known
from North America, the only description of this specimen was in an
unpublished dissertation (Vanderhill, 1986) and it has not been illus
trated. I have examined the La Union skull in the AMNH collection and
the size and morphology of the teeth and maxilla are similar to the Haile
15A specimen (Robertson, 1976), suggesting tentative referral to P.
garbanii. La Union is latest Blancan which would be one of the youngest
records of this species (Vanderhill, 1986; Morgan and Lucas, 2003).
Paramylodon was one of the first South American immigrants to
reach North America following the onset of the second major pulse of the
GABI in the Blancan. The earliest well-dated records of Paramylodon
are from the early Blancan of the San Miguel de Allende Basin in Mexico
at about 4.7 Ma (Flynn et al. 2005). The oldest records of this genus in
temperate North America are from the uppermost Gauss Chron (early
late Blancan) in the southwestern United States. Two southwestern sites
containing Paramylodon have associated magnetostratigraphy indicating
correlation to the upper Gauss Chron (C2An.1n; 2.58-3.04 Ma), Donnelly
Ranch, Colorado (Hager, 1975) and Pearson Mesa, New Mexico (Tomida,
1987; Morgan and Lucas, 2000a; Morgan et al., this volume). Paramylodon
from 111 Ranch occurs near the Gauss/Matuyama boundary at about 2.6
Ma (Galusha et al., 1984). Paramylodon from the Macasphalt Shell Pit
in Florida (Jones eta l., 1991; Morgan, 2005), Blanco (Lindsay, et al.
1976), and Anza Borrego Desert (Cassiliano, 1999) are from the lower
Matuyama Chron (C2r.2r; 2.15-2.58 Ma).

[bierk]

No matter what the true specific id is, that is a fantastic find! Congratulations on it and thank you for showing us.

[FossilHunter99]

What a day!! Congratulations

[DinoToeBone]

Awesome finds!

[ElToro]

I'm interested in the environment it was found in. Never been to Florida and I imagine it to be mostly swamp. What sort of hunting do you do? You have to dig to find these? Or do they sorta wash up on the riverbanks?

[Shellseeker]

I'm interested in the environment it was found in. Never been to Florida and I imagine it to be mostly swamp. What sort of hunting do you do? You have to dig to find these? Or do they sorta wash up on the riverbanks?

There are many ways to hunt Florida -- dry land, construction sites, quarries, scuba diving in the gulf and searching the rivers and streams. I have actually tried all of these, but settled on hunting the Peace River and its connecting watershed.

The common way is to build a large 2x3 foot sieve with pool noodles for buoyancy. Walk into the river with a probe to identify places where the gravel in thick on the riverbed. Stand about waist deep and with a shovel, move the gravel from the riverbed to the sieve.

There are a large number of fossils in that gravel -- dig where no_one has ever dug before (sometimes that is just deeper) and you find amazing fossils.

It "sounds" easy.

Very Rarely, but sometimes the riverbank washes out leaving an amazing fossil exposed.. SS

[ElToro]

There are many ways to hunt Florida -- dry land, construction sites, quarries, scuba diving in the gulf and searching the rivers and streams. I have actually tried all of these, but settled on hunting the Peace River and its connecting watershed.

The common way is to build a large 2x3 foot sieve with pool noodles for buoyancy. Walk into the river with a probe to identify places where the gravel in thick on the riverbed. Stand about waist deep and with a shovel, move the gravel from the riverbed to the sieve.

There are a large number of fossils in that gravel -- dig where no_one has ever dug before (sometimes that is just deeper) and you find amazing fossils.

It "sounds" easy.

Very Rarely, but sometimes the riverbank washes out leaving an amazing fossil exposed.. SS

Sounds fun! Here in Australia its usually hot and dry. Would be nice to be in waist high water for a change... Edited January 4, 2016 by ElToro

[Harry Pristis]

Harry, I am naturally enthused, not only in finding it, but in getting the correct ID, if possible. I took Nate's hint and started tracking the Internet. There are some (5-10) of P garbani fossils (claw, teeth, phalanx) advertised on ebay or Auction houses as coming from Florida. I realize that this does not mean very much, but then this scientific manual. THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE ON THE INTERNET about P.garbani, but there is some. We have also found three toed horse teeth at this site.

I agree that the key question is why this is not just a young P. harlani..

Thanks for your skill and assistance in helping to ID .. Jack

. . . .

Robertson (1976) used the name Glossotherium

chapadmalense, here tentatively referred to Paramylodon garbanii, for

an associated maxilla, dentary, and partial postcranial skeleton of a small

mylodont from Haile 15A. Other Florida late Blancan records of

Paramylodon cf. P. garbanii consist of isolated teeth or postcranials,

including specimens from Macasphalt Shell Pit, Santa Fe River 1,

Kissimmee River, Lehigh Acres, and Acline Shell Pit (Morgan, 2005).

Most Florida sites containing P. cf. P. garbanii are early late Blancan in

age based on their association with Nannippus. Mylodont records from

non-Florida Blancan sites mostly consist of fragmentary remains, re

ferred in the literature to Paramylodon sp., Glossotherium sp., or G.

chapadmalense. If the original authors mentioned that specimens were

notably smaller than typical P.harlani, then these records are referred to

Paramylodon cf. P. garbanii. Otherwise, they are referred to Paramylodon

without a species designation.

. . . .

Thank you, Jack. I wasn't aware that Lucas, et. al. had suggested a tentative equivalence of Florida's Glossotherium chapadmalense and western fragmentary remains of "Paramylodon sp., Glossotherium sp., or G. chapadmalense" of various authors. No one has confirmed that yet, AFAIK. I remain skeptical, but open to new ideas.

[PrehistoricFlorida]

It seems to me improbable that this sloth jaw is from P. garbanii, a Blancan species that AFAIK hasn't been reported east of the Mississippi River. Furthermore, size is a dubious basis for assigning this specimen with two teeth. How can you determine that this is not a young P. harlani when sloth teeth start small and continue to increase in size as they mature?

I personally found a large assemblage of P. garbanii in a Blancan site in Taylor Co. Florida. Eric Prokopi also found A LOT of P. garbanii in his Blancan site in North Florida(60+ claws). Most of the representations you see on the internet are likely from these two sites. It has also been reported from several Blancan sites in the Santa Fe.

The jaw in question appears to me to have "adult looking" teeth. Attached are pictures of a juvenile P. harlani jaw for comparison. Notice how the teeth on this specimen would be widest at the root as the teeth were still growing.

[Shellseeker]

Amazing finds!!

Tony

PS Can We see some pictures of the other finds of the day?

Sorry for the delay, Tony. I am naturally very focused on an ID for the Paramylodon jaw, had to wait for some of my partners photos. The 1st 3 photos are selections: Combined together we found between 50-60 horse, most looked like Equus but there were a few complete teeth about 1/2 of Equus width that could be pre-equus, not three-toed. Sorry for the darkness of the photos, but you will get the general sense.

LOTS of horse material, lots of tiger and dusky teeth, Makos, Hemis, whale teeth and cookies, dillos, tapir, center of middle photo is gator scute, tapir tooth with roots, small GW, Paleolama Mirifica P4..

some closeups:

Last photo:

GW is a tad over 2 inches, the Mako a tad under 2 inches.

Last is a Spit tooth, VERY little Bison, Mammoth, Mastodon, Glyptodont at this location NO Meg material

We do get a lot of whale here , mostly kogiopsis. Looking for an ID on this one lower left center photo -- a lot more detail on the outside root area. Originally thought it might be mammal canine

Edited January 4, 2016 by Shellseeker

[Harry Pristis]

I personally found a large assemblage of P. garbanii in a Blancan site in Taylor Co. Florida. Eric Prokopi also found A LOT of P. garbanii in his Blancan site in North Florida(60+ claws). Most of the representations you see on the internet are likely from these two sites. It has also been reported from several Blancan sites in the Santa Fe.

The jaw in question appears to me to have "adult looking" teeth. Attached are pictures of a juvenile P. harlani jaw for comparison. Notice how the teeth on this specimen would be widest at the root as the teeth were still growing.

Well, the question is not whether there existed smaller paramylodon-like sloths in Florida; certainly there were many Glossotherium chapadmalense and Paramylodon harlani subadults (not juveniles) in their populations.

The question rather is a taxonomic one: Are G. chapadmalense and Paramylodon garbanii the same species? AFAIK, this has not been demonstrated. What we have is a tentative suggestion that they are the same species. I remain skeptical.

"The dentition in xenarthrans is typically reduced in tooth types and numbers and all lack enamel. There is no milk dentition, and the teeth are ever-growing. No xenarthran has identifiable incisors.

"Sloths are the only xenarthrans with canine-shaped teeth, and in these animals they occlude upper in front of lower, opposite from the pattern in other mammals, making their relationships to true canine teeth uncertain. Therefore, in sloths those teeth are called 'caniniform.'

"Likewise, neither premolars nor molars can be distinguished in sloths, armadillos or glyptodonts, and the cheek teeth are all similar in appearance and all called 'molariform.' The anteaters are the only edentulous xenarthrans, although the group was previously known as the Edentata.

"The teeth in sloths erupt as simple cones, and acquire the cusp pattern characteristic of each species through wear caused by chewing movements. The generation of tooth wear patterns in other xenarthrans has not been studied." [from novelguide.com]