Name:

Thalassocnus (Greek for "sea sloth"); pronounced THA-la-SOCK-nuss

Habitat:

Shorelines of South America

Historical Epoch:

Late Miocene-Pliocene (10-2 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 6 feet long and 300-500 pounds

Diet:

Aquatic plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Long front claws; downward-curving snout

 

About Thalassocnus:

When most people think of prehistoric sloths, they picture huge, land-dwelling beasts like Megatherium (the Giant Sloth) and Megalonyx (the Giant Ground Sloth).

But the Pliocene epoch also witnessed its share of weirdly adapted, "one-off" sloths, the prime example being Thalassocnus, which dived for food off the coast of northwestern South America (the interior of that part of the continent consisting mostly of desert). Thalassocnus used its long, claw-tipped hands both to reap underwater plants and anchor itself to the sea floor while it fed, and its downward-curving head may have been tipped by a slightly prehensile snout, like that of a modern dugong.