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Choloepus didactylus

Choloepus didactylus (*)

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Ordo: Pilosa
Subordo: Folivora
Familia: Megalonychidae
Genus: Choloepus
Species: Choloepus didactylus

Name

Choloepus didactylus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Type locality: "Zeylona", corrected to Surinam (Thomas, 1911)

Synonyms

* Bradypus didactylus Linnaeus, 1758

Choloepus didactylus , Photo: Michael Lahanas

References

* Choloepus didactylus on Mammal Species of the World.
* Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2 Volume Set edited by Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder
* Linnaeus: Systema Naturae, 10th ed., 1: 35.

Vernacular names
Internationalization
English: Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth
Polski: Leniwiec dwupalczasty, Unau
Português: Preguiça-de-dois-dedos, Preguiça-real

Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus), also known as the Southern two-toed sloth or unau, is a species of sloth from South America, found in Venezuela, the Guyanas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil north of the Amazon River.

It is a solitary, nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in rainforests. It is able to swim, making it possible to cross rivers and creeks. The two-toed sloth's main enemies are man, large birds of prey like the Harpy Eagle and Crested Eagle, and cats like the Ocelot.

Modern sloths are divided into two families based on the number of toes on their front feet. Linnaeus's two-toed sloth and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) are larger than their three-toed cousins. They also have longer hair, bigger eyes, and their back and front legs are more equal in length.[3]

Linnaeus's two-toed sloth has recently been documented eating human faeces from open latrines.[4]

References

1. ^ Gardner, Alfred (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 101. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=11800018.
2. ^ Meritt, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group (2008). Choloepus didactylus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 1 December 2008.
3. ^ http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2004/6/sloths.cfm
4. ^ Heymann, E. W., Flores Amasifuén, C., Shahuano Tello, N., Tirado Herrera, E. T. & Stojan-Dolar, M (2010). "Disgusting appetite: Two-toed sloths feeding in human latrines". Mammalian Biology. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2010.03.003.

* Louise H. Emmons and Francois Feer, 1997 - Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide.

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License