megatherium

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an extinct giant ground sloth of the genus Megatherium, native to South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene

   The megatherium was much larger than any living tree sloth.

From New Latin Megatherium, the genus name, formed from Greek megas ("great") and therion ("wild animal, beast"). The name therefore means "great beast" and was applied to the enormous extinct ground sloth.

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