Two-toed Sloth

Two-toed Sloth
Choloepus didactylus

The sloth is the world’s slowest mammal. It has specialised hair that promotes algal growth, giving the fur a greenish tint, and providing excellent camouflage in the foliage. The fur also parts along the belly, unlike other mammals, allowing rain to run off. The Two-toed Sloth has two long claws on the front feet and three on the hind feet, making the name ‘Two-toed’ somewhat erroneous. Its limbs and large claws are well adapted for hanging in the rainforest canopy, where they sleep up to 20 hours a day and feed on leaves and fruits at night. Since they get most of their water from eating juicy plants, and have a very slow metabolism, sloths only need to descend to the ground once a week to defecate. Once on the ground, their weak hind limbs and large claws hinder their movement, and they have to drag themselves across the forest floor, which makes them vulnerable to predation.The Two-toed Sloth is unusual in that it can have as few as five neck vertebrae. All other mammals, apart from the Manatee and Three-toed Sloth, have seven neck vertebrae, although individuals within species may have different numbers for genetic reasons.

Distribution: northern and north-eastern South America
Conservation status: Least Concern
Evolutionary distinctiveness: Low