Neonematherium is a member of the Scelidotheriidae, a family of ground sloths known from the
Oligocene,
MiocenePliocene,
Pleistocene, and the
Early Holocene epochs and are characterized by an elongated snout. Scelidotheres themselves part are usually placed as a subfamily of the
Mylodontidae, although they are sometimes considered a separate family,
Scelidotheriidae.[4]
Below is a phylogenetic tree of the
Scelidotheriidae, based on the work of Nieto et al. 2021, showing the position of Neonematherium.[5]
^Carlini, A. A., Vizcaíno, S. F. & Scillato-Yané, G. J. 1997. Armored Xenarthrans: a unique taxonomic and ecologic assemblage. In Kay, R. F., Madden, R. H., Cifelli, R. L. & Flynn, J. J. (Edits.). Vertebrate Paleontology in the Neotropics. The Miocene Fauna of La Venta, Colombia. Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 213–226.
^Presslee, S.; Slater, G. J.; Pujos, F.; Forasiepi, A. M.; Fischer, R.; Molloy, K.; Mackie, M.; Olsen, J. V.; Kramarz, A.; Taglioretti, M.; Scaglia, F.; Lezcano, M.; Lanata, J. L.; Southon, J.; Feranec, R.; Bloch, J.; Hajduk, A.; Martin, F. M.; Gismondi, R. S.; Reguero, M.; de Muizon, C.; Greenwood, A.; Chait, B. T.;
Penkman, K.; Collins, M.; MacPhee, R.D.E. (2019).
"Palaeoproteomics resolves sloth relationships"(PDF). Nature Ecology & Evolution. 3 (7): 1121–1130.
Bibcode:
2019NatEE...3.1121P.
doi:
10.1038/s41559-019-0909-z.
PMID31171860.
S2CID174813630.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2022-06-21.