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Glite Dictionary
Megatherium

Megatherium

1 9.9
A very large extinct ground sloth from South America that lived long ago
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛɡəˈθɪəriəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Megatherium
  • It's the vertebra from the lumbar of a Megatherium, found in Asia.

Examples

  • The Megatherium was a massive creature that roamed South America thousands of years ago.

  • Megatherium's long tongue helped it strip off leaves, which it shredded with unusual back teeth—hard, with high, deeply ridged crowns, but no enamel.

    Academic text (2009)

  • This is the vertebra of a Megatherium found in Asia.

    Lost Horizon (1937)

  • Even the largest of the ground sloths, the gigantic Megatherium, survived until relatively recently.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Fossils of the Megatherium have provided scientists with insight into the life of prehistoric giant ground sloths.

  • Paleontologists believe that the Megatherium could weigh as much as a small car and stood over 10 feet tall.

Surface Forms

Megatherium singular
Megatheriums plural

Etymology

Megatherium comes from Greek parts mega meaning 'large' and therion meaning 'beast'. So Megatherium literally means 'large beast', which helps you remember it was a very big, now extinct, ground sloth from South America.