Articular and vertebral lesions in the Pleistocene sloths (Xenarthra, Folivora) from the Brazilian Intertropical Region

Abstract

We performed a macroscopic study on six species of Pleistocene sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR) including Valgipes bucklandi, Catonyx cuvieri, Mylodonopsis ibseni, Glossotherium sp., Ocnotherium giganteum and Eremotherium laurillardi and compared the results with a previous investigation of Nothrotherium maquinense and Ahytherium aureum. Differential diagnostic analysis revealed six varieties of musculoskeletal diseases: Calcium Pyrosphosphate Deposition Disease (CPPD), Spondyloarthropathy (SpA), Osteoarthritis (OA), Osteochondritis Dessicans (OD), Schmorl’s Node (SN) and Spondylosis Deformans (SD). We also carried out multivariate statistical analyses on all Pleistocene sloths to verify the similarity between taxa based on diagnosed diseases.

Keywords:

• Brazilian Intertropical Region
• Pleistocene
• sloths
• musculoskeletal diseases

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to C. Cartelle (Museu de Ciências Naturais da PUC-MG), E. V. Oliveira (Universidade Federal de Pernanmbuco) and N. Guidon (Fundação Museu do Homem Americano) who kindly gave us access to the specimens studied here, L. V. Santos (Museu de Ciências Naturais da PUC-MG) for the crucial help with the identification of the material, and B. das M. Rosário for the help with the acquisition of the imagens. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions and comments improved the manuscript.