MEGATHERIUM
Upon first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking Megatherium was an ancient relative of bears, but Megatherium was really a giant ground sloth, and one of the most infamous prehistoric beasts ever discovered.
Megatherium lived around 2 million years ago, up until relatively recently, dying out about 8000 years ago. Despite being a relation to modern day sloths, Megatherium was 6 metres long and weighed up to 4 tonnes. Although it was a vegetarian, it had the killer instinct and anatomical weaponry of a ferocious hunter. With claws over half a metre long and the ability to stand on two legs, had it been provoked Megatherium would have easily been able to kill with a swipe of its had and a slash of its knife like claws.
Fossils of Megatheriums teeth show it had evolved for a diet made predominantly of leaves and vegetation, yet it is quite possible that on occasion it adopted meat into its diet by scavenging off other kills.
Megatherium was most likely the largest predator of its surroundings and was greatly equipped in defences against predators. With huge claws and immensely powerful arms and legs, its stocky body was also covered in a bony sort of chain mail, making it an almost impossible target for hunters. That is, every hunter except humans. Our human ancestors no doubt were familiar with these giant sloths and it is entirely possible we hunted them, some theories go as far to say we played a part in their untimely extinction.
Megatherium fossils were first discovered in 1788, contrary to popular belief this was even before the first dinosaur discovery. The concept of life before humans was well known, but before the discovery of Megatherium, no one had any idea that prehistoric life grew to such extraordinary sizes. Megatherium skeletons were a huge attraction all over the world, in London their display at the Natural History Museum were a thrill to the Victorian public, yet when the Dinosaurs made their first appearance, Megatheriums popularity dwindled. Fascination with Megatherium has had a lasting impact with many, there are myths across South America that they do indeed still exist in caves and crevices in the Andes.
Fossils of Megatherium are relatively common, complete skeletons, dung, footprints are known and unbelievably, their hair has been found in many caves across America. Megatherium has gripped the imagination of the human mind for over 200 years, it was one of the largest land mammals that has ever existed, yet to our ancestors Megatherium did not live in the imagination, they were very real. It is unknown what caused the demise of this remarkable mammal, whether human hunting got out of hand or the gradual warming of the Earth played a part, or indeed whether their extinction was a mixture of both factors. Today the closest we can get to Megatherium is its smaller sloth counterparts, armadillos and anteaters.
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