{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2216"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2216","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"A phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis of Parocnus serus, an extinct Holocene sloth from Haiti","abstract":"Parocnus serus belongs to a unique radiation of extinct ground sloths endemic to the Antillean islands that was discovered in 1929, but, prior to this thesis, it had not been described in detail or had its phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships with other Antillean sloths extensively analyzed. This detailed description of skull and mandible specimens supported the distinctiveness of the genus Parocnus, and the existing size-based separation of the Antillean megalonychids. A morphological phylogenetic analysis of a sample of Antillean sloths supported the close relationship between P. serus and P. torrei but did not provide conclusive results on the relationships among the other Antillean sloths. A principal components analysis was performed using skull and mandibular measurements of Haitian sloth taxa. The PCA supported the separation of Parocnus, Acratocnus, and Neocnus into different genera, but did not support the current species distinctions among the three previously recognized species of Neocnus from Haiti.","abstract_html":"Parocnus serus belongs to a unique radiation of extinct ground sloths endemic to the Antillean islands that was discovered in 1929, but, prior to this thesis, it had not been described in detail or had its phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships with other Antillean sloths extensively analyzed. This detailed description of skull and mandible specimens supported the distinctiveness of the genus Parocnus, and the existing size-based separation of the Antillean megalonychids. A morphological phylogenetic analysis of a sample of Antillean sloths supported the close relationship between P. serus and P. torrei but did not provide conclusive results on the relationships among the other Antillean sloths. A principal components analysis was performed using skull and mandibular measurements of Haitian sloth taxa. The PCA supported the separation of Parocnus, Acratocnus, and Neocnus into different genera, but did not support the current species distinctions among the three previously recognized species of Neocnus from Haiti.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jones, Julia L"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gaudin, Timothy J.","Aborn, David; Wilson, Thomas P.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:28Z","subjects":["Megalonychidae, Fossil","Megalonychidae--Haiti--Phylogeny","Paleoecology--Holocene"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1031","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gaudin, Timothy J.","Aborn, David; Wilson, Thomas P.","College of Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jones, Julia L"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Megalonychidae, Fossil","Megalonychidae--Haiti--Phylogeny","Paleoecology--Holocene"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1031"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Parocnus serus belongs to a unique radiation of extinct ground sloths endemic to the Antillean islands that was discovered in 1929, but, prior to this thesis, it had not been described in detail or had its phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships with other Antillean sloths extensively analyzed. This detailed description of skull and mandible specimens supported the distinctiveness of the genus Parocnus, and the existing size-based separation of the Antillean megalonychids. A morphological phylogenetic analysis of a sample of Antillean sloths supported the close relationship between P. serus and P. torrei but did not provide conclusive results on the relationships among the other Antillean sloths. A principal components analysis was performed using skull and mandibular measurements of Haitian sloth taxa. The PCA supported the separation of Parocnus, Acratocnus, and Neocnus into different genera, but did not support the current species distinctions among the three previously recognized species of Neocnus from Haiti."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis of Parocnus serus, an extinct Holocene sloth from Haiti"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gaudin, Timothy J.","Aborn, David; Wilson, Thomas P.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Jones, Julia L"],"dc:date":["2025-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."],"dc:description.abstract":["Parocnus serus belongs to a unique radiation of extinct ground sloths endemic to the Antillean islands that was discovered in 1929, but, prior to this thesis, it had not been described in detail or had its phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships with other Antillean sloths extensively analyzed. This detailed description of skull and mandible specimens supported the distinctiveness of the genus Parocnus, and the existing size-based separation of the Antillean megalonychids. A morphological phylogenetic analysis of a sample of Antillean sloths supported the close relationship between P. serus and P. torrei but did not provide conclusive results on the relationships among the other Antillean sloths. A principal components analysis was performed using skull and mandibular measurements of Haitian sloth taxa. The PCA supported the separation of Parocnus, Acratocnus, and Neocnus into different genera, but did not support the current species distinctions among the three previously recognized species of Neocnus from Haiti."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1031"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Megalonychidae, Fossil","Megalonychidae--Haiti--Phylogeny","Paleoecology--Holocene"],"dc:title":["A phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis of Parocnus serus, an extinct Holocene sloth from Haiti"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:28Z"}