Mylodontidae is a family of extinct mammals within the order of Pilosa

Pilosa

The order Pilosa is a group of placental mammals, extant today only in the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths, including the recently extinct ground sloths....

 and suborder Folivora living from approximately 23 mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately . This family of ground sloths is related to the other families of extinct ground sloths, being the Megatheriidae

Megatheriidae

Megatheriidae is a family of extinct ground sloths that lived from approximately 23 mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately .Megatheriids appeared later in the Oligocene, some 30 million years ago, also in South America. The group includes the heavily-built Megatherium and Eremotherium...

, the Nothrotheriidae, the Orophodontidae

Orophodontidae

Orophodontidae is a family of extinct ground sloths within the order of Pilosa and suborder Folivora. The name is often disused with genus members reassigned....

 and the Scelidotheriidae

Scelidotheriidae

Scelidotheriidae is a family of extinct mammals within the order of Pilosa and suborder Folivora. This family of ground sloths is related to the other families of extinct ground sloths, being the Megatheriidae, the Mylodontidae, the Nothrotheriidae, and the Orophodontidae...

. The only extant families of the suborder Folivora are the Bradypodidae and the Megalonychidae

Megalonychidae

Megalonychidae is a group of sloths including the extinct Megalonyx and the living two toed sloths. Megalonychids first appeared in the early Oligocene, about 35 million years ago, in southern Argentina , and spread as far as the Antilles by the early Miocene...

. Phylogenetic analyses using homologous sequences from all extant edentate groups indicates that the Mylodontidae were closer related to Megalonychidae than to Bradypodidae.

The mylodontids together with their relatives the scelidotheriids and the orophodontids form the Mylodonta, the second radiation of ground sloths. The discovery of their fossils in caverns associated with human occupation lead some early researchers to theorize that the early humans built corral

Corral

Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system...

s when they could procure a young ground sloth, to raise the animal to butchering size. However, radiocarbon dates

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

 do not support simultaneous occupation of the site by humans and sloths. Subfossil

Subfossil

Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....

 remains like coproliths, fur and skin have been discovered in some quantities.

FAMILY †MYLODONTIDAE Gill, 1872

• Urumacotherium (incertae sedis
  Incertae sedis
  , is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
  
  )
• Subfamily Lestodontinae
  • Tribe Thinobadistini
    • Genus Thinobadistes
      Thinobadistes
      Thinobadistes is an extinct genus of actively mobile ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae, endemic to North America during the Miocene-Pleistocene epochs. It lived from 13.6—5.3 mya, existing for approximately ....
      
      
    • Genus Sphenotherus
  • Tribe Glossotheriini
    • Genus Acremylodon
    • Genus Ranculcus
    • Genus Glossotherium
      Glossotherium
      Glossotherium was a genus of ground sloth. It was a heavily built animal with a length of about snout to tail-tip, and could potentially assume a slight bipedal stance.Fossils of this animal have been found in South America...
      
      
    • Genus Paramylodon
      Paramylodon
      Paramylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene through Pleistocene epochs, living from around ~4.9 Mya—11,000 years ago .-Overview:...
      
      
    • Genus Mylodonopsis
  • Tribe Lestodontini
    • Genus Lestodon
      Lestodon
      Lestodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth from South America. The etymology of the name means "robber tooth." Lestodon is placed as member of the Mylodontidae as indicated by the lobed form of the last tooth in the dentition.-External links:*...
      
      
    • Genus Lestodontidion
• Subfamily Mylodontinae
  • Genus Glossotheriopsis
  • Genus Promylodon
  • Genus Strabsodon
  • Genus Megabradys
  • Genus Pleurolestodon
  • Genus Mylodon
    Mylodon
    Mylodon is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth that lived in the Patagonia area of South America until roughly 10,000 years ago.Mylodon weighed about and stood up to tall when raised up on its hind legs. Preserved dung has shown it was a herbivore. It had very thick hide and had osteoderms...
    
    

External links

• Sloth World: An Online Sloth Bibliography.
• Picture and information about a ground sloth skeleton on display at the University of Georgia's Science Library.
• Academy of Natural Sciences ground sloth page.
• Illinois State Museum ground sloth page.
• Ground sloths at La Brea.
• Eremotherium in Florida.
• Have some ground sloths survived in Argentina?
• Ground sloths in general.
• Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology Hemet, CA