Oreomylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth in the family Mylodontidae, endemic to Ecuador during the Pleistocene. The only species, O. wegneri, was long considered to be either a species or subgenus[1] of Glossotherium (as G. wegneri) or a junior synonym of Glossotherium robustum, but studies of its cranial anatomy published in 2019 have supported Oreomylodon as a valid genus, and suggested it is more closely related to Paramylodon.[2] However, a subsequent analysis published in 2020 again sunk Oreomylodon wegneri into Glossotherium, as a distinct species.[3] It shows adaptations to living in a high-altitude habitat, and its fossils have frequently been unearthed in the Interandean Valles of Ecuador, at elevations of between 2,450 and 3,100 meters.
References
^Martin, Paul S.; Klein, Richard G. (1989). Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution. University of Arizona Press. p. 54. ISBN9780816511006.
^Román-Carrión, José Luis; Brambilla, Luciano (2019). "Comparative skull osteology of Oreomylodon wegneri (Xenarthra, Mylodontinae): defining the taxonomic status of the Ecuadorian endemic ground sloth". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (4). doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1674860. S2CID209439994.
