''Prepoplanops'' is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family

Megatheriidae Megatheriidae is a family of extinct ground sloths that lived from approximately 23 mya—11,000 years ago. Megatheriids appeared during the Late Oligocene (Deseadan in the SALMA classification), some 29 million years ago, in South America. ...

. It lived in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

around 18 to 16 million years ago of what is now

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. The only known species is ''Prepoplanops boleadorensis''.

Description

''Prepoplanops'' was a medium-sized ground sloth, about 1.5 to 2 meters long.

Classification

''Prepoplanops'' was a representative of the Planopsinae, a subfamily of megatheriids that lived during the Miocene. In particular, it appears that ''Prepoplanops'' was an intermediate form between ''Planops'' and ''Prepotherium''. ''Prepoplanops boleadorensis'' was first described in 2013, based on fossil remains found in Argentina's

Santa Cruz Province Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

in the

Cerro Boleadoras Formation Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municip ...

. Below is a phylogenetic tree of the Megatheriidae, based on the work of Varela and colleagues (2019).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q110461569 Prehistoric sloths Miocene xenarthrans Miocene mammals of South America Fossil taxa described in 2013 Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Santacrucian Prehistoric placental genera