Xibalbaonyx

Xibalbaonyx is an extinct genus of megalonychid ground sloth known from the Late Pleistocene of Mexico. Three species are known: X. oviceps and X. exiniferis from the Yucatan peninsula and X. microcaninus from Jalisco. The genus is named after Xibalba, the underworld in Maya mythology.

Xibalbaonyx
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) ~0.016–0.010 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: †Megalonychidae
Genus: †Xibalbaonyx
Stinnesbeck et al. (2017)
Type species
†Xibalbaonyx oviceps
Stinnesbeck et al 2017
Other species
  • †Xibalbaonyx microcaninus Stinnesbeck et al 2018
  • †Xibalbaonyx exinferis Stinnesbeck et al 2020

Discovery and taxonomy

The holotype of X. oviceps is a mostly complete skeleton discovered in an underwater cave system,[1] while X. microcaninus being known from a complete skull and mandible from the sediments of the former paleolake of lake Jalisco.[2] The overlapping remains of the skull and mandibles have notable differences between them, enough to call them distinct species. A third species X. exiniferis was described in 2020, also from an underwater cave in the Yucatan Peninsula, it is known from a "fragmentary left mandibular ramus, an atlas, and a left humerus".[3] In 2020, a description of the postcranial remains of the holotype X. oviceps was published, suggesting that the taxon had climbing capabilities.[4]

References
  1. Stinnesbeck, Sarah R.; Frey, Eberhard; Olguín, Jerónimo Avíles; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang; Zell, Patrick; Mallison, Heinrich; González González, Arturo; Aceves Núñez, Eugenio; Velázquez Morlet, Adriana; Terrazas Mata, Alejandro; Benavente Sanvicente, Martha; Hering, Fabio; Rojas Sandoval, Carmen (2017). "Xibalbaonyx oviceps, a new megalonychid ground sloth (Folivora, Xenarthra) from the Late Pleistocene of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, and its paleobiogeographic significance". PalZ. 91 (2): 245–271. doi:10.1007/s12542-017-0349-5. ISSN 0031-0220.
  2. Stinnesbeck, Sarah R.; Frey, Eberhard; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang (2018). "New insights on the paleogeographic distribution of the Late Pleistocene ground sloth genus Xibalbaonyx along the Mesoamerican Corridor". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 85: 108–120. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2018.05.004. ISSN 0895-9811.
  3. Stinnesbeck, Sarah R.; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang; Frey, Eberhard; Avilés Olguín, Jerónimo; González, Arturo González (2020-05-12). "Xibalbaonyx exinferis n. sp. (Megalonychidae), a new Pleistocene ground sloth from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico". Historical Biology: 1–12. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1754817. ISSN 0891-2963.
  4. Stinnesbeck, Sarah R.; Frey, Eberhard; Avilés Olguín, Jerónimo; González, Arturo González; Velázquez Morlet, Adriana; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang (2020-09-21). "Life and death of the ground sloth Xibalbaonyx oviceps from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico". Historical Biology: 1–17. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1819998. ISSN 0891-2963.
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