Life and death of the ground sloth Xibalbaonyx oviceps from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Ongoing investigations in submerged cave systems of Quintana Roo in south-eastern Mexico reveal a rich Late Pleistocene megafaunal assemblage, among them the megalonychid ground sloth Xibalbaonyx oviceps. The taxon has been described based on a complete skull and mandible from El Zapote cenote west...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
November 2021
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| In: |
Historical biology
Year: 2021, Volume: 33, Issue: 11, Pages: 2610-2626 |
| ISSN: | 1029-2381 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08912963.2020.1819998 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2020.1819998 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1819998 
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| Author Notes: | Sarah R. Stinnesbeck, Eberhard Frey, Jerónimo Avilés Olguín, Arturo González González, Adriana Velázquez Morlet and Wolfgang Stinnesbeck |
| Summary: | Ongoing investigations in submerged cave systems of Quintana Roo in south-eastern Mexico reveal a rich Late Pleistocene megafaunal assemblage, among them the megalonychid ground sloth Xibalbaonyx oviceps. The taxon has been described based on a complete skull and mandible from El Zapote cenote west of Puerto Morelos. We here add hitherto unreported postcranial material from El Zapote, attributed to the holotype. This new material allows us to reconstruct unexpected locomotion capabilities for Xibalbaonyx oviceps including steep slope and rock climbing. This may have enabled the ground sloth to use the sinkholes and underground caverns as water resource and shelter. The Late Pleistocene age of the fossil allows for a co-existence with early human settlers on the Yucatán Peninsula. |
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| Item Description: | Online publiziert: 21. September 2020 Gesehen am 12.09.2025 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1029-2381 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08912963.2020.1819998 |