A FOSSIL SLOTH SKELETON FROM A CAVE IN QUERETARO, MEXICO

ABSTRACT:

Over thousands of years, a pit within Cueva del Tesoro in Queretaro, Mexico, has functioned as a death trap for mam- mals. This has resulted in the accumulation of mammalian fossils. At the bottom of this pit there is an almost complete and articulated skeleton of a ground sloth (Xenarthra, Folivora, Nothrotheriidae), Nothrotheriops shastensis. Remains of other animals include partial remains of at least a second ground sloth, a bovid, and bats. Given the extreme fragility and brittle nature of the remains, no attempt was made to extract or excavate them. Here we report our results mainly through photographic documentation in situ, with particular emphasis on dentary elements.