Two-toed sloth
Choloepus is a genus of xenarthran mammals of Central and South America within the monotypic family Choloepodidae, consisting of two-toed sloths, sometimes also called two-fingered sloths. The two species of Choloepus (which means "lame foot"), Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), were formerly believed on the basis of morphological studies to be the only surviving members of the sloth family Megalonychidae, but have now been shown by molecular results to be closest to extinct ground sloths of the family Mylodontidae.
Two-toed sloths | |
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Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Pilosa |
Superfamily: | Mylodontoidea |
Family: | Choloepodidae Gray, 1871 |
Genus: | Choloepus Illiger, 1811 |
Type species | |
Bradypus didactylus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species | |
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