The
ground sloths of the extinct
genus Megalocnus ("Great Sloth") were among the largest of the
Caribbean ground sloths, with individuals estimated to have weighed up to when alive. Two species are known,
M. rodens of
Cuba, and
M. zile of
Hispaniola.
Subfossils of
M. rodens indicate survival well into the
Holocene, prompting speculation that they may have survived in the
montane forests of the Cuban highlands until the 15th or 16th century. However, the most recent
AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190
BP,
calibrated to c. 4700 BP. This is similar to the most recent date reported for a Hispaniolan sloth, 4391 BP, calibrated to c. 5000 BP, for the small and probably arboreal
Neocnus comes, and some 1200 years after the earliest known date for human occupation of Cuba, 5140 BP, calibrated to c. 5900 BP. Their relatives include other Caribbean ground sloths, such as
Acratocnus,
Mesocnus,
Miocnus,
Neocnus,
Parocnus, and
Paulocnus.