ground sloth

American  

noun

1. any of various extinct large, edentate mammals from the Pleistocene Epoch of North and South America resembling modern sloths but living on the ground rather than in trees.

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Etymology

Origin of ground sloth

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

The reverse trek was made by four different kinds of ground sloths, oversized armadillos, terror birds, capybaras and even a marsupial.

From Science Daily

Though Jefferson named only the genus Megalonyx, public misinterpretation of the spelling of the scientific name began with the second published paper on this giant ground sloth.

From Science Daily

They lost their biggest natural seed-disperser, the giant ground sloth, to extinction at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, and the mice that now carry the seeds can’t move them very far.

From Los Angeles Times

In contrast, fossil trackways preserved in dried lake beds in Nevada and New Mexico show ground sloth footprints with all four feet on the ground.

From Seattle Times

Some 13,000 years later, that sabertoothed cat’s jawbone sits in a museum drawer alongside those of a western horse, ancient bison, dire wolf, ground sloth, and yesterday’s camel.

From Science Magazine