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Megatherium
Taxonomy
Megatherium was named by Cuvier (1796). Its type is Megatherium americanum. It is the type genus of Megatheriidae, Megatheriinae, Megatherioidea, Megatheriadae.
It was assigned to Bradypidae by Gray (1825); to Edentata by Leidy (1860); to Mylomorpha by Ameghino (1885) and Cope (1889); to Megatheriidae by Lydekker (1894), Ameghino (1902), Hay (1902), Rovereto (1914), Oliver Schneider (1926) and Carroll (1988); and to Megatheriinae by Hay (1930), Gaudin (1995), Pujos and Salas (2004), Zurita et al. (2004), Pujos (2006), Amson et al. (2017) and Varela et al. (2019).
It was assigned to Bradypidae by Gray (1825); to Edentata by Leidy (1860); to Mylomorpha by Ameghino (1885) and Cope (1889); to Megatheriidae by Lydekker (1894), Ameghino (1902), Hay (1902), Rovereto (1914), Oliver Schneider (1926) and Carroll (1988); and to Megatheriinae by Hay (1930), Gaudin (1995), Pujos and Salas (2004), Zurita et al. (2004), Pujos (2006), Amson et al. (2017) and Varela et al. (2019).
Species
M. altiplanicum, M. americanum (syn. Essonodontherium gervaisi) (type species), M. antiquum, M. bergi, M. celendinense, M. elenense, M. gallardoi, M. gaudryi, M. istilarti, M. lundi, M. medinae, M. mirabile, M. rectidens, M. sundti, M. tarijense (syn. M. filholi), M. uquiense, M. urbinai, Neoracanthus brackebuschianus, Neoracanthus burmeisteri
Species lacking formal opinion data
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1796 | Megatherium Cuvier |
| 1825 | Megatherium Gray p. 343 |
| 1860 | Megatherium Leidy p. 111 |
| 1884 | Essonodontherium Ameghino |
| 1885 | Megatherium Ameghino p. 114 |
| 1885 | Megatherium antiquum Ameghino p. 114 |
| 1885 | Oracanthus Ameghino p. 495 |
| 1889 | Neoracanthus Ameghino p. 673 |
| 1889 | Megatherium Cope p. 659 |
| 1894 | Megatherium Lydekker p. 71 |
| 1902 | Megatherium Ameghino |
| 1902 | Megatherium Hay p. 576 |
| 1914 | Megatherium Rovereto p. 151 |
| 1926 | Megatherium Oliver Schneider p. 148 |
| 1930 | Megatherium Hay p. 404 |
| 1988 | Essonodontherium Carroll |
| 1988 | Megatherium Carroll |
| 1995 | Megatherium Gaudin |
| 2004 | Megatherium Pujos and Salas |
| 2004 | Megatherium Zurita et al. |
| 2006 | Megatherium Pujos |
| 2017 | Megatherium Amson et al. p. 231 figs. Fig. 10 |
| 2019 | Megatherium Varela et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Megatherium Cuvier 1796
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†Megatherium altiplanicum Saint-Andre and De Iuliis 2001
†Megatherium americanum Cuvier 1796
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Invalid names: Essonodontherium gervaisi Gervais and Ameghino 1880 [synonym]
†Megatherium bergi Moreno and Mercerat 1891
†Megatherium celendinense Pujos 2006
†Megatherium elenense Hoffstetter 1949
†Megatherium gallardoi Ameghino and Kraglievich 1921
†Megatherium gaudryi Moreno 1888
†Megatherium istilarti Kraglievich 1925
†Megatherium lundi Gervais and Ameghino 1880
†Megatherium medinae Philippi 1893
†Megatherium mirabile Leidy 1855
†Megatherium rectidens Rovereto 1914
†Megatherium sundti Philippi 1893
†Megatherium tarijense Gervais and Ameghino 1880
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Invalid names: Megatherium filholi Moreno 1888 [synonym]
†Megatherium uquiense Kraglievich 1930
†Megatherium urbinai Pujos and Salas 2004
Invalid names: Essonodontherium Ameghino 1884 [synonym], Megatherium antiquum Ameghino 1885 [nomen dubium], Neoracanthus Ameghino 1889 [synonym], Oracanthus Ameghino 1885 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| F. Pujos and R. Salas 2004 | Medium-sized to large Megatheriinae, tooth rows subparallel as in Megatheriops, Megather- iculus, Pyramiodontherium, and Plesiomegatherium (curved in Eremotherium); dental formula 5/4 M, all teeth are molariform and quadrangular in occlusal view (compressed anteroposteriorly in Megathericulus and Plesiomegatherium); together, L and R premaxillae are Y-shaped (M. americanum) or X-shaped (M. tarijense) (V-shaped in Eremotherium or juveniles of M. americanum and M. altiplanicum), premolari- form portion of maxilla short (long in Eremotherium and Mio-Pliocene Megatheriinae); V-shaped post- palatine notch (U-shaped in Eremotherium and Megathericulus), high or very high degree of hypsodonty, poorly developed ectotympanic (well developed in Eremotherium), anterior base of coronoid process anterior to m4; posterior extremity of mandibular symphysis posterior to m1 as in Eremotherium, Pyramiodontherium, Megatheriops (anterior to m1 in Plesiomegatherium); facets for atlanto-axial joint separate (fused in Eremotherium); deltopectoral crest reduced (well marked in Eremotherium, very strong in Megatheriops); musculospiral groove and area of attachment of brachialis anticus muscle reduced (developed in Eremotherium); manus with II±V functional digits (digits III±V in E. laurillardi and I±V in E. eomigrans); digits II±IV clawed; MCC formed by fusion of ®rst digit and trapezium (by trapezium, trapezoid, and McI±II in E. laurillardi and, at least, by trapezium, McI, and occasionally trapezoid in E. eomigrans); fusion of ®rst and second phalanges of third digit of manus; McIII Y-shaped, with a large medial limb, or I-shaped (with a small medial limb in Eremotherium); distal epiphysis of tibia slightly compressed anteroposteriorly (highly compressed in Eremotherium); discoid and ectal facets of astragalus in contact in dorsolateral view (separated in Eremotherium). |