Oreomylodon

Oreomylodon Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skull of Oreomylodon
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Pilosa
Family:	†Mylodontidae
Subfamily:	†Mylodontinae
Genus:	†Oreomylodon Hoffstetter 1949
Species
O. wegneri Spillmann 1931

Oreomylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth in the family Mylodontidae, endemic to Ecuador during the Pleistocene. The only species, O. wegneri, was long considered to be either a species or subgenus^[1] of Glossotherium (as G. wegneri) or a junior synonym of Glossotherium robustum, but studies of its cranial anatomy published in 2019 have supported Oreomylodon as a valid genus, and suggested it is more closely related to Paramylodon.^[2] However, a subsequent analysis published in 2020 again sunk Oreomylodon wegneri into Glossotherium, as a distinct species.^[3] It shows adaptations to living in a high-altitude habitat, and its fossils have frequently been unearthed in the Interandean Valles of Ecuador, at elevations of between 2,450 and 3,100 meters.

References