Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Pilosa > Megalonychidae > Neocnus

Neocnus

Synonyms: Cubanocnus; Microcnus

Wikipedia Abstract

Neocnus is an extinct genus of ground sloth, whose species ranged across Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic). Neocnus would have resembled a typical megalonychid ground sloth, though much smaller, with a longer tail and a broad trunk, as well as lissome limbs and long claws. This sloth was known for having caudal vertebrae that were broad, a trait shared with other ground sloths, indicating that this animal, like the tamandua of today, likely used its tail to stand upright. The caniniform teeth of the Neocnus were large and triangular, and its skull was deep and had a large, sagittal crest which, when used with the deep mandible likely allowed strong exertion by the masticatory muscles.
View Wikipedia Record: Neocnus

Species

External References

Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0