Megatherium Americanum (Giant Beast) is a species of giant ground sloth that lived about 35 million to 11,000 years ago during the Cenozoic Era. Megatherium was about seven meters tall and weighed around seven tons. It’s the largest species of sloth to ever live, being about the size of a modern elephant.

The Megatherium was a large fur-covered animal that featured large claws and teeth. The teeth were primarily at the sides of the jaw, this is because Megatherium ate large leaves and bushes. Megatherium was primarily quadrupedal, meaning it walked on four legs. It did occasionally walk on two legs, typically to reach high up leaves.

The Megatherium lived primarily in South America, but migrated to North America during the last Ice Age. The Megatherium went extinct during the last Ice Age, with the reason being unknown. Many theories have been made about the disappearance of this mammal. One theory of Megatherium’s extinction suggests that the Megatherium lived on an island with very few predators for thousands of years; When they traveled north they were eaten by predators heading south. Another theory states that they were wiped out by disease. We have no way of telling how they actually went extinct due to our lack of knowledge about the species.