Thinobadistes fossil map
Where fossils of Thinobadistes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 9.4–4.7 million years ago (Tortonian to Zanclean) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Mylodontidae |
| Named by | Hay 1919 |
| Fossil records | 14 occurrences at 7 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | txn:43629, Alachua, Ash Hollow |
About Thinobadistes
Thinobadistes is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Miocene-Pliocene epochs (Hemphillian). It lived from 10.3 to 4.9 mya, existing for approximately 5.4 million years.
Thinobadistes and Pliometanastes were the first of the giant sloths to appear in N. America. Both Pliometanastes and Thinobadistes were in N. America before the Panamanian Land Bridge formed around 2.5 million years ago. It is then reasonable to presume that the ancestors of Thinobadistes island-hopped across the Central American Seaway from South America, where sloths in general first evolved.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Thinobadistes (revision 1354846702), 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: Q9087351.
