The Pale-throated Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) is a three-toed sloth that inhabits tropical rainforests of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas and Brazil. This sloth lives high in the canopy.
It has almost no tail or external ears, and its head is slightly rounded with a blunt nose. The body is covered with long and coarse hair. Very small green algae sometimes live mutualistically in the pits of the hair, which gives the sloth an overall greenish appearance that serves as camouflage. Male Pale-throated sloths have a bright yellow or orange patch on the back. The females have two mammae in the chest region. The Pale-throated sloth is armed with long, compressed, arched, hollowed claws, of which the middle claw is the largest.
The Pale-throated sloth grows to a length of between 1.5 and 2.5 feet. The limbs are long and weak, with anterior extremities that are nearly double the length of the posterior. The Pale-throated sloth has nine neck vertebrae, giving it extreme flexibility.
Bradypus tridactylus in a Costa Rican rehabilitation center.
The Pale-throated sloth can hang so securely with its hooklike claws that it even falls asleep in this position. It may even stay suspended in the trees for some time after it dies.
The Pale-throated sloths have a gestation period of six months, usually giving birth to a single infant. After the birth the young animal depends on its mother to carry it on her back for up to nine months, although it is weaned on to leaves after one month.
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