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248 / Cenozoic
Thalassocnus
Thalassocnus natans
Dense bones helped it submerge and long claws anchored it on the bottom—an extraordinary marine experiment among ground sloths.
- Time range
- About 7–4 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Pliocene
- Geographic range
- Pacific seagrass and kelp beds · Peru and Chile
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Thalassocnus?
Thalassocnus (Thalassocnus natans) was an extinct organism known from About 7–4 million years ago, with a range in Pacific seagrass and kelp beds · Peru and Chile.
Life and ecology
Thalassocnus was a semiaquatic to aquatic ground sloth feeding on seagrass and seaweed. Successive species show increasingly aquatic noses, tails and bone density.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Thalassocnus disappear?
Changing Pacific currents, temperature and shallow-water vegetation may have ended this localized lineage.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Thalassocnus?
Pisco Formation skeletons form a sequence of denser bones, broader tails and changing snouts; isotopes support marine feeding.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS