Sloth
Bradypodidae
Megalonychidae
†Megatheriidae
†Mylodontidae
†Nothrotheriidae
†Orophodontidae
†Scelidotheriidae
Sloths are medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae (two-toed sloth) and Bradypodidae (three-toed sloth), classified into six species. They are part of the order Pilosa and are therefore related to anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws. Extant sloths are arboreal (tree dwelling) residents of the jungles of Central and South America, and are known for being slow-moving, and hence named "sloths". Extinct sloth species include many ground sloths.
Sloths make a good habitat for other organisms, and a single sloth may be home to moths, beetles, cockroaches, ciliates, fungi, and algae.
Read more about Sloth: Taxonomy and Names, Ecology, Physiology, Evolution, Classification, Extinctions, Conservation
Famous quotes containing the word sloth:
“Bookworm, break this sloth urbane;
A greater spirit bids thee forth
Than the gray dreams which thee detain.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“You need not be proud of me.... I’m only being active till you can be again—it isn’t such a great desire on my part to serve the world and I’ll fall back into habits of sloth quite easily!”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)