Oreomylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth in the family Mylodontidae, endemic to Ecuador during the Pleistocene. The only species, O. wegneri, was long considered to be either a species or subgenus[1] of Glossotherium (as G. wegneri) or a junior synonym of Glossotherium robustum, but studies of its cranial anatomy published in 2019 have supported Oreomylodon as a valid genus, and suggested it is more closely related to Paramylodon.[2] However, a subsequent analysis published in 2020 again sunk Oreomylodon wegneri into Glossotherium, as a distinct species.[3] It shows adaptations to living in a high-altitude habitat, and its fossils have frequently been unearthed in the Interandean Valles of Ecuador, at elevations of between 2,450 and 3,100 meters.
| Oreomylodon Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
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| Skull of Oreomylodon | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pilosa |
| Family: | †Mylodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Mylodontinae |
| Genus: | †Oreomylodon Hoffstetter 1949 |
| Species | |
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References
edit- ^ Martin, Paul S.; Klein, Richard G. (1989). Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution. University of Arizona Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780816511006.
- ^ Román-Carrión, José Luis; Brambilla, Luciano (2019). "Comparative skull osteology of Oreomylodon wegneri (Xenarthra, Mylodontinae): defining the taxonomic status of the Ecuadorian endemic ground sloth". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (4). doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1674860. S2CID 209439994.
- ^ Iuliis, Gerardo DE; Boscaini, Alberto; Pujos, François; Mcafee, Robert K.; Cartelle, Cástor; Tsuji, Leonard J. S.; Rook, Lorenzo (2020-12-28). "On the status of the giant mylodontine sloth Glossotherium wegneri (Spillmann, 1931) (Xenarthra, Folivora)from the late Pleistocene of Ecuador". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 19 (12): 215–232. doi:10.5852/cr-palevol2020v19a12. hdl:2158/1222861. ISSN 1777-571X.
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