Giant sloth

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Matt Smith (left), an artisan with the Natural History Museum of Livingston, Mont., and S. David Webb, a curator with the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, examine the claws and arm bones Friday (6/9) of newly discovered ground sloth that is the oldest of its kind ever found in North America. Weighing more than five tons and able to reach as high as 17 feet, the 2.2 million-year-old prehistoric creature was larger than today’s African bull elephants, Webb said. Smith, a professional fossil preparator, was in Gainesville to collect the bones and will mount the skeleton. The finished product will be returned to the museum in 18 months for display in UF’s Powell Hall.

(UF photo by Jeff Gage)
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