Shasta Ground Sloth
Nothrotheriops shastensis
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Chordata
Mammalia
Pilosa
Megatherioidea
Nothrotheriidae
Nothrotheriops shastensis
The Shasta Ground Sloth — Nothrotheriops shastensis, a solitary browser of Ice Age deserts and woodlands, was one of North America’s last surviving giant ground sloths — a slow, shaggy vegetarian that vanished with the close of the Pleistocene.
Description
Smaller than the colossal Megatherium or Eremotherium, Nothrotheriops shastensis was a medium-sized ground sloth adapted to dry, open habitats across the American Southwest and northern Mexico. It stood about 2.7 meters tall when reared upright and possessed long, curved claws used to pull down branches or strip bark from desert shrubs.
This species was thick-furred and likely nocturnal or crepuscular, sheltering in caves during the day. Remarkably, it is one of the best-known extinct mammals thanks to mummified remains found in desert caves — complete with skin, hair, and desiccated dung, or coprolites. These coprolites preserve undigested plant fragments, revealing a diet of yucca, agave, mesquite, Mormon tea, and other desert vegetation.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
460
1.2
1.8
2.7
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Omnivores – Balanced
Hunt History
There is no clear evidence that humans hunted Nothrotheriops shastensis directly, though it survived well into the window of human colonization of North America. Paleoindian hunters in the Southwest likely encountered it, and some coprolite sites contain charred plant remains suggesting shared cave use or fire-setting by humans. Its extinction likely resulted from combined human pressure and rapid climatic drying at the end of the Pleistocene.
Archaeological and paleontological contexts:
Rampart Cave, Arizona (Grand Canyon) — Thousands of preserved coprolites, hair, and bones; radiocarbon dated to 11,000–12,000 years BP.
Gypsum Cave, Nevada — Mummified sloth remains with intact skin and claws, found alongside early human artifacts (~11,000 years BP).
El Fin del Mundo, Sonora, Mexico — Late-surviving remains in arid scrub deposits, possibly overlapping with early human activity (~10,800 years BP).
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
North America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
5
Est. Renderable Fat
23
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral/subcutaneous (general)
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3