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 28 really big ground sloths DHJanzen100690.jpg high resolution
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| And then there were really BIG ground sloths. The giant ground sloths stood 5 meters tall at the shoulder and had a hind foot a meter long (and weighed more than the largest African elephants). The toenails were as large as a banana. Not only could an animal like this - which once ranged throughout South and Central America - consume huge quantities of large fruits, and pass large seeds in their dung without discomfort, but would also have broken up tree canopies in their foraging. These irregular canopies would then have offered many more opportunities for light-demanding trees to establish in the forest, changing the demographies of these trees probably as much as did their seed shadows. When? 11, 500 years ago and more. | ||
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