Previous Adaptations

Size: The Prehistoric Giant Sloth was a pretty big animal! It had the towering height of about twelve feet when standing on its hind legs, and weighed about four tons.

Bipedal Mammal: The Giant Sloth was actually the largest bipedal mammal to ever roam the earth! Bipedal is basically just a fancy word for standing on two legs. Other bipedal animals include the Tyrannosaurus Rex, or a living example today, the Kangaroo.

This hypothesis makes sense, especially when you take into account the Giant Sloth's long sharp claws and huge size, but chemical analysis shows that they were just herbivores. The main hypotheses for their sharp claws is that they were good for defending themselves from predators, that would be searching for big mammals like the Giant Sloths to feed on, the claws would have also helped them dig their burrows.

Similarities with descendants: The Giant Sloths physical description is actually pretty similar to the sloths around today, except for the clear size and weight difference. Similarities between the two include: having three toes (sloths today either have two toes or three toes), having a fur coat, and being herbivores. At first glance, you may have wondered if the Giant Sloths could be an omnivore.