Nothrotheriops - Ecology

Ecology

Nothrotheriops behaved like all typical ground sloths of North and South Americas, feeding on various plants like the Desert Globemallow, cacti, and yucca. It was hunted by various local predators, like the Smilodon, from which the sloths may have defended themselves by standing upright on hindlegs and tail and swiping with their long foreclaws, like its distant relative Megatherium, as conjectured in the BBC series Walking with Beasts. The same claws could also been used as tools to reach past the plant spines and grab softer flowers and fruits. Also, the Shasta ground sloth may have had a prehensile tongue (like a giraffe) to strip leaves off branches.

This species' ancestry dates back to the Miocene. Nothrotheriops migrated to North America from South America during the Irvingtonian about 1 MYA. This species' range came as far north as the Canadian province of Alberta, making it one of the most northerly species of its clan, which otherwise lived primarity in the southern region of the North American continent, i.e. the states Texas, South Carolina and Florida.

The best known historical specimen was found in a lava tube at Aden Crater in New Mexico; it was found with hair and tendon still preserved. Also, prolonged period of search at Rampart Cave have revealed a plentiful amount of the sloth's hair and dung, which allowed the scientists both to use radiocarbon dating techniques to establish when it lived.