Ossified meniscus and cyamo-fabella in some fossil sloths: a morpho-functional interpretation

RODOLFO, SALAS; FRANÇOIS, PUJOS; CHRISTIAN, DE MUIZON

GEOBIOS

Université Claude Bernard (Lyon). Département des Sciences de la Terre

Lugar: Lyon; Año: 2005 vol. 38 p. 389 - 394

0016-6995

An articulated skeleton of Thalassocnus natans (Xenarthra : Nothrotheriidae) and a review of some other fossil sloths provide new information on sesamoid bones located at the knee joint. A sesamoid bone and an ossified meniscus have been identified at this joint. The cyamofabella (posterior sesamoid of the tibio-femoral articulation) of T. natans may act like a pulley through which the tendon of the m. gastrocnemius would have passed. The ossified meniscus, which is also present in Megatheriidae and Mylodontidae, could be related to the pedolateral stance and a large rotation of the knee joint during locomotion.