Editing Megatherium (section)

=== Limbs ===
[[File:Megatherium cuvieri - right foot.JPG|thumb|Foot of ''Megatherium'' showing enlarged and elongate calcaneum (left) and lateral digits]]
The bones of the forelimbs of ''M. americanum'' are relatively slender. The three fingers in the middle of the hand bore claws, while the cuneiform hand bones did not touch the [[ulna]].<ref name=":5" /> The [[olecranon]] process of the ulna was relatively short.<ref name=":12" /> Like other xenarthrans, but unlike most other mammals, ''Megatherium'' possesses [[clavicle]]s (collarbones), which serves to support the forelimb. Like other sloths, the clavicle is merged with the [[acromion]] of the [[scapula]].<ref name=":11" /> The femur was massive and roughly rectangular in shape.<ref name=":5" /> As in most megatheriines, the [[tibia]] and [[fibula]] of ''Megatherium'' species are fused together at their proximal (closest to hip) end, while in ''M. americanum'' and ''M. tarijense'', they are also fused together at their distal (closest to foot) ends.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bonini |first1=Ricardo A. |last2=Brandoni |first2=Diego |date=December 2015 |title=Pyramiodontherium Rovereto (Xenarthra, Tardigrada, Megatheriinae) from the Early Pliocene of San Fernando, Catamarca Province, Argentina |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.5710/AMGH.16.06.2015.2902 |journal=Ameghiniana |language=en |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=647–655 |doi=10.5710/AMGH.16.06.2015.2902 |hdl=11336/42299 |issn=0002-7014}}</ref> The foot was heavily modified from those of other mammals and earlier ground sloths, with a reduction in the number of digits on the inner part of the foot (digits I and II being lost), the increase in the size and robustness (thickness) of the [[metapodial]] elements of the outer digits, with the loss or reduction of the [[Phalanx bone|phalangeal]] bones. The [[calcaneum]] is wide and elongate posteriorly. The foot is suggested to have been inwardly rotated, historically the foot was suggested to be near vertical, though a recent study suggests that the angle was much shallower. The weight was primarily borne on the outer digits and the calcaneum.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Toledo |first1=Néstor |last2=De Iuliis |first2=Gerardo |last3=Vizcaíno |first3=Sergio F. |last4=Bargo |first4=M. Susana |date=December 2018 |title=The Concept of a Pedolateral Pes Revisited: The Giant Sloths Megatherium and Eremotherium (Xenarthra, Folivora, Megatheriinae) as a Case Study |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10914-017-9410-0 |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=525–537 |doi=10.1007/s10914-017-9410-0 |issn=1064-7554}}</ref> ''M. urbinai'' differs from ''M. americanum'' and other ''Megatherium'' species in the shape and position of the feet and hand bones, including the [[metacarpals]], [[metatarsals]], ectocuneiform, [[Hamate|hamate/unciform]], [[Navicular bone|navicular]] and [[Astragalus bone|astragalus/talus]].<ref name=":6" />