🦕 Prehistoric World Map

Nothropus fossil map

Where fossils of Nothropus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.

Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →

GroupEarly mammals
Lived2.58 million years ago to the present (Gelasian to Holocene)
PeriodsQuaternary
FamilyMegalonychidae
Named byBurmeister 1882
Fossil records6 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB)
Found inBolivia, Argentina, Brazil
Rock formationsTarija, Timbúes, Solimões

About Nothropus

Nothropus is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Nothrotheriidae, endemic to South America during the Pleistocene epoch. It lived from 0.781 mya—12,000 years ago existing for approximately 0.769 million years. It was believed to be a ground-dwelling herbivore.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Nothropus (revision 1354839606), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q7062989.

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