Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus didactylus''), also known as the southern two-toed sloth, unau, or Linne's two-toed sloth is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their l ...

from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, found in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, the

Guyanas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * G ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

north of the Amazon River. There is now evidence suggesting the species' range expands into Bolivia.

Phylogeny

Sloths belong to the order

Pilosa The order Pilosa is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths (which includes the extinct ground sloths). The name comes from the Latin word for "hairy". Origins and taxonomy The bi ...

, which also includes anteaters. They belong to the super order

Xenarthra Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and armadillos. ...

, which includes the

Cingulata Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, is an order of armored New World placental mammals. Dasypodids and chlamyphorids, the armadillos, are the only surviving families in the order. Two groups of cingulates much larger than extant ar ...

. Xenarthra are edentate or toothless. They lack

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s and have a large reduction in number of teeth with only four to five sets remaining including

canines Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...

. Modern sloths are divided into two families based on the number of toes on their front feet, Choloepodidae and Bradypodidae. Linnaeus's two-toed sloth and

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus hoffmanni''), also known as the northern two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainf ...

(''

Choloepus hoffmanni Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus hoffmanni''), also known as the northern two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainfor ...

'') belong to the family Choloepodidae, which included extinct ground sloths.

Morphology

''Choloepus didactylus'' are larger than three-toed sloths. They have longer hair, bigger eyes, and their back and front legs are more equal in length. Their ears, hind feet and head are generally larger than Bradypodidae. They do however have a shorter tail. Their shoulder height, the height from the shoulder blade to the tips of the claw is longer than three-toed sloths, indicating longer arms. The species has relatively few teeth; it has four to five sets including

and lacks

s. The teeth lack enamel, consisting only of two layers ever-growing dentin. Supernumerary teeth have occasionally been observed, but this has been reported in almost all mammalian orders.

Ecology

''C. didactylus'' is a solitary, nocturnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

animal, found in rainforests. The two-toed sloth falls prey to wild cats such as the ocelot and jaguar as well as large birds of prey such as the harpy and crested eagles. Predation mainly occurs when the sloth descends to the ground in order to defecate or change trees. Anacondas have also been known to hunt sloths. It is able to swim, making it possible to cross rivers and creeks, but maybe also making it more available to a predator like an anaconda. Two-toed sloths live in ever-wet tropical rainforests that are hot and humid. They tend to live in areas where there is a lot of

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

growth so they can easily travel from tree to tree in the canopies of the forests. They mainly eat leaves, but there is lacking data on the extent of their diet due to their nocturnal lifestyle and camouflage.

References

Gallery

Image:Zweizehenfaultier.png, 1883 painting Image:Choloepus didactylus - Buffalo Zoo.jpg, ''Choelopus didactylus'' at Buffalo Zoo Image:Sloth & baby, caught on Amazon. Leticia, Colombia1969.jpg, Sloth & baby, caught at Leticia, Colombia {{Taxonbar, from=Q752691 Sloths Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Peru Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Mammals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Phylogeny

Morphology

Ecology

See also

References

Gallery