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How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise
- Ancient sloths diversified in size and ecology based on habitats and climate, as revealed in a recent Science study combining ancient DNA, fossil morphology, and climatic data.
- Extinct sloths like Megatherium were massive terrestrial creatures critical to ecosystems, comparable to modern large herbivores in browsing tall trees.
- Researchers, led by Rachel Narducci, used ancient DNA and fossils to trace sloth evolution over 35 million years, uncovering distinct lineage adaptations.
- Arboreality constrained sloth size due to biomechanical limits, keeping arboreal species small while ground sloths diversified in size range.
- Climate shifts influenced size evolution, with warming favoring smaller sloths in forests and cooling promoting gigantism for thermoregulation.
- Sloths evolved diverse adaptations, even venturing into marine environments with semi-aquatic species like Thalassocnus resembling marine mammals.
- Selective pressures favored sloth stability until environmental changes triggered body size reconfiguration, leading to extinctions with human arrival.
- The study highlights how gigantism became a liability with human hunting and habitat disturbances, impacting even arboreal sloths in the Caribbean.
- Through paleontological and genomic analyses, researchers reconstructed sloths' adaptability and diversity, offering insights on habitat-driven evolution.
- The study showcases the intricate balance between anatomy, environment, and selective pressures in driving sloth evolution, with lessons for modern species facing environmental transformations.
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