Some ancient giant ground sloths dined on meat

Ground sloths are often depicted as herbivorous giants of the ice age, but a fresh analysis suggests a 3-metre-long species that once lived in South America also ate some meat

Some ancient giant ground sloths dined on meat
Life 7 October 2021

By Riley Black

Reconstruction of the South American elephantine  crushed  sloth Mylodon darwinii feeding connected  carcass

Reconstruction of the South American elephantine crushed sloth Mylodon darwinii feeding connected the carcass of the hoofed autochthonal herbivore Macrauchenia

Jorge Blanco

Giant crushed sloths person often been portrayed arsenic gentle giants of the crystal age. Much of their anatomy, from their level molars to their vat-like guts, seems accordant with a fare centered astir the Pleistocene crockery bar. But present determination is grounds that immoderate elephantine crushed sloths had much cosmopolitan tastes that incorporated flesh.

The important clues travel from isotopes of nitrogen tied to peculiar amino acids preserved successful the fur …

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