Rising on its powerful hind legs and using its tail to form a tripod, Megatherium could support its massive body weight while using the curved claws on its long forelegs to pull down branches with the choicest leaves. Its large size enabled it to feed at heights unreachable by other contemporary herbivores. Megatherium had a robust skeleton with a large pelvic girdle and a broad muscular tail. Megatherium species were members of the abundant Pleistocene Megafauna, large mammals that lived during the Pleistocene epoch. This sloth, like a modern anteater, walked on the sides of its feet because its claws prevented it from putting them flat on the ground.

When it stood on its hind legs it was about twenty feet (6 m) tall, twice the height of an elephant. Although it was primarily a quadruped, its footprints show that it was capable of assuming a bipedal stance. It had huge claws, and could walk on its hind legs up to eight tons, about as much as a bull African Elephant. It was a massive ground sloth, covered in long dark hair. Weighing almost a much as an elephant, Megatherium must have been one of the most impressive animals ever to walk the Earth. Megatherium lived about 17.5-8,000 years ago. Megatherium species were members of the abundant Pleistocene Megafauna, large mammals that lived during the Early Miocene-Holocene epochs. Megatherium had huge claws, and could walk on its hind legs up to eight tons, about as much as a bull African Elephant. Its size was exceeded by only a few other land mammals, including mammals like the Indricotherium and some elephants.

Megatherium (meaning 'Great Beast') was a genus of rhino-sized ground sloths endemic to North America that lived from the Early Miocene-Holocene existing for approximately 17.5 million years.

Megatherium americanum as it appeared in Walking with Beasts

Ark survival evolved mega megatherium