There are both two-toed and three-toed sloths. Sloths are identified by the number of long, prominent claws that they have on each front foot. The plant gives it a greenish tint that is useful camouflage in the trees of its Central and South American rain forest home. Downloaded on 18 July 2019.The sloth is the world's slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on its furry coat. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1990. Sloths are a food animal for indigenous people as well as for large carnivores, such as jaguars and birds of prey. Several species of plants germinate only after they have passed through the sloths' digestive system. Under pressure from an alarming rate of deforestation in the world's tropics, sloths and other tropical forest species numbers are at risk.īecause of their fruit diet, sloths are very important propagators of tropical plants. Another adaptation to life upside down is that their hair has a natural part on their belly (as opposed to their back) that allows water, in frequent rainstorms, to run off.īecause of their unique metabolic activity, sloths are restricted to the constant warm temperatures of tropical forests. Because their body is designed to hang upside down, they are physically incapable of truly walking they basically crawl when on the ground, usually on the way from one tree to another. Sloths spend their entire lives hanging upside down in trees: eating, sleeping, mating, and even giving birth in an upside down position.Because of their slow metabolism, it is necessary for sloths to defecate and urinate only once a week.

Unlike most mammals, their body temperature and metabolism will fluctuate throughout the day according to environmental temperatures, ranging from 24 to 33 degrees Celsius. Sloths have an extremely slow metabolism and have the lowest variable body temperature of any mammal.That is a direct reference to the fact that this genus only has two toes on each of its front feet. The scientific name Choloepus means lame, or maimed, foot.It is also believed that the sloth will eat some of the algae and, interestingly, it will absorb some of the nutrients from the algae through its skin. It has specialized hair that encourages algae growth, which aids in camouflaging the animal. The sloth has a very unusual symbiotic relationship with algae.It is believed that sloths obtained their common name from one of the biblical 'seven deadly sins'. Their slow speed, along with their nocturnal lifestyle, makes them very hard to notice. Sloths are extremely slow moving animals.Edentata means 'without teeth' though anteaters are the only members of this order truly lacking teeth. Sloths are often classified under the order Edentata, along with anteaters and armadillos, their closest relative.Scientific Classification Common Name Hoffmann's two-toed sloth Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Xenarthra Family Megalonychidae Genus Species Choloepus (lame or maimed foot) hoffmanni (Carl Hoffman of Costa Rica)įast Facts Description Grayish-brown animal with a lighter face, has two long claws on the front feet, and three on the hind feet Size 50 to 75 cm (21 to 29 in.) total head and body length Weight 4.5 to 9 kg (10 to 20 lbs.) Diet Herbivore, feeding on leaves, twigs, and fruits Incubation 11.5 months one offspring Sexual Maturity Male: 4 to 5 yearsįemale: 3.5 years Life Span Averages 15 to 20 years, but ages of over 30 are possible in managed situations Range Nicaragua to Peru and Central Brazil and northern South America Habitat Tropical forest tree canopies Population Global: There are no exact population counts available however, these animals are commonly found within the existing habitat within their range Status IUCN: Density Dependent (DD)

Sloth names