UM : Science [S01-ep05]: From the Giant Sloth to the Sclerochronology Platform

[Podcast] - Published on November 25, 2021 under Research Clusters, Science and Society, Research Structures

This week, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, a paleontologist atISEM, tells us about the discovery of the first giant sloth fossil in French Guiana. In the second half of the program, Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton from the Marbec laboratory take you on a a tour of the sclerchronology lab.  

Now let’s head to French Guiana, where a funny little creature awaits you. It looks like a Spanish broom, with huge arms ending in three Freddy Krueger-style claws, eyes as round as marbles, and legendary slowness. You’ve recognized it—it’s the sloth, of course—but would you be able to recognize its ancestor?

In late 2020, illegal gold miners unearthed a nugget far more valuable than gold: a skeleton ofEremotherium laurillardi, or giant sloth, a species that could reach 4 meters in height and went extinct 12,000 years ago. From October 12 to 18, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, a paleontologist atISEM, traveled with his team to the site of what he calls a “major discovery” to excavate the maxilla, mandible, radius, and other fossil elements and identify them. He tells us all about this expedition, which was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

In the second half of the program, we’ll take you to the Triolet campus for a tour of the sclerchronology lab with Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton, who are able to “read” fish otoliths and shark vertebrae to determine their age or even trace the paths they’ve traveled. Today, they’ll give us a glimpse into this true detective work…

At "UM : Science," here's the lineup—let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Report: Aline Périault
Director: Anna Demeulandre

Listen to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: InUM , science, Research, Science