| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Megistonyx
Taxonomy
Megistonyx was named by McDonald et al. (2013). Its type is Megistonyx oreobios.
It was assigned to Megalonychidae by McDonald et al. (2013); and to Megalonychinae by Varela et al. (2019).
It was assigned to Megalonychidae by McDonald et al. (2013); and to Megalonychinae by Varela et al. (2019).
Species
M. oreobios (type species)
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Megistonyx McDonald et al. p. 1228 |
| 2019 | Megistonyx Varela et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| H. G. McDonald et al. 2013 | Large ground sloth similar in size and robustness to the North American genus Megalonyx Harlan, 1825, and larger and more robust than the South American genera Ahytherium Cartelle, De Iuliis, and Pujos, 2008, and Australonyx De Iuliis, Pujos, and Cartelle, 2009. Tooth rows of skull anteriorly divergent so width of the palate at the level of the diastema between the caniniform and first molariform is greatly widened in comparison with Megalonyx and is similar to Ahytherium; other apomorphies shared with Ahytherium include absence of fossa on palatal surface of maxilla posterior to C1, anterior edge of nasal straight or concave, postorbital process of frontal well posterior to maxillary foramen, and temporal lines converge but do not contact; autapomorphies include prominent furrow along the anterior edge of the base of the zygomatic separates the rostrum from the orbital region, occiput triangular, surface immediately posterior to glenoid fossa rugose, dorsal edge of zygomatic process of temporal not continuous with the occipital crest; optic foramen and sphenorbital fissure share common opening, large sphenopalatine vacuity present, pterygoid pneumatic. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Hendy et al. 2009, Ji et al. 2002, Nowak 1991, Carroll 1988, Lillegraven 1979 | |||||
Age range: Late/Upper Pleistocene or 0.12900 to 0.01170 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | Venezuela (Zulia) | M. oreobios (199778) |