Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991,

Question

Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years
old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands.

A. sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the
earliest known mammal of
B. sloth, that they found in Puerto Rico in 1991, has been dated at 34 million years
old, thus making it the earliest mammal known on
C. sloth that was found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
making this the earliest known mammal of
D. sloth, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, have been dated at 34 million years old,
making the sloth the earliest known mammal on
E. sloth which, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
made the sloth the earliest known mammal of

abhijit_sen · Answer

A. sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years old, made it the
earliest known mammal of
What "made' it earliest known mammal? Moreover "mammal of" is incorrect usage.

B. sloth, that they found in Puerto Rico in 1991, has been dated at 34 million years
old, thus making it the earliest mammal known on
"Fossils" were dated not the sloth so S-V disagreement.

C. sloth that was found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
making this the earliest known mammal of
"Fossils" were dated not the sloth so S-V disagreement.

D. sloth, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, have been dated at 34 million years old,
making the sloth the earliest known mammal on
Looks OK.

E. sloth which, found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
made the sloth the earliest known mammal of
"Fossils" were dated not the sloth so S-V disagreement.

grepro · Answer

Finally its a choice between "which made" and "making" in D and E. Can some put some light on this.

amitkaneria · Answer

Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991, and dated at 34 million years
old, made it the earliest known mammal of the Greater Antilles islands.

A. sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991 , and dated  at 34 million years old, made it the
earliest known mammal of
B. sloth , that they found  in Puerto Rico in 1991, has been dated at 34 million years
old, thus making it the earliest mammal known on
C. sloth that was found in Puerto Rico in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
making this the earliest known mammal  of 
D. sloth , found in Puerto Rico in 1991, have been dated  at 34 million years old,
making the sloth the earliest known mammal on
E. sloth  which, found in Puerto Rico  in 1991, was dated at 34 million years old,
made the sloth the earliest known mammal of

IMO 'D'

spriya · Answer

OA is D
Can u shed some light on mammals of Vs mammals on usage here

In (A) fossils made it earliest known mammal ,hence can u elaborate on this too

icandy · Answer

spriya,

Mammal of seems to say that mammal belongs to the island

Mammal on seems to say that mammal lives on the island

Implicitly/Explictly, both of them seem to say the same thing, but the latter is explicit and clear

To me B C & E were clearly out as B uses they, C uses singular was for plural fossils, E uses which , which does not touch any thing.

Between A & D,

In A, the "and " is clearly not needed. The good thing about A is it maintains the past tense.

D remains and maintains the continuous tense.

But I felt that the continuous tense is not needed to start with. Any one care to share your thoughts on why the continuous tense makes sense for an event that happened once in 1991.

spriya · Answer

Thannks for the explanation,I marked A since i found it concise and correct,The mammal on land now clears my doubt

arjtryarjtry · Answer

also, in A, 'IT' reference is ambiguous...
IT- puerto rico or sloth?

ssandeepan · Answer

It and This in A, B and C do not have a clear referrent... it/this can mean the sloth, the arm of the sloth or even puerto rico.
So, we are left with D and E. In E including the modifying clause after which makes it distorted. 
In D, mentioning 'the sloth' clears the ambiguity and so is the best answer.

kandyhot27 · Answer

I as juggling between C and D

However, ending in 'of' for option C was the deal-breaker for me.
IMO D

Fossils of the arm of a sloth found in Puerto Rico in 1991,

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