Southern maned sloth
Species of mammal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The southern maned sloth (Bradypus crinitus) is a three-toed sloth species.
| Southern maned sloth | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pilosa |
| Family: | Bradypodidae |
| Genus: | Bradypus |
| Species: | B. crinitus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bradypus crinitus J. E. Gray, 1850 | |
 | |
| Southern maned sloth range | |
Description
The southern maned sloths have flatter skulls, rounder jaws, and wider cheekbones than the northern maned sloths.[1] The species has a head that looks like a coconut.
Distribution
The sloth is endemic to Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a highly biodiverse region. Southern maned sloths were found in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.[2]
Discovery
The species was discovered by John Edward Gray in 1850, but his assertions were later dismissed, with taxonomists agreeing that the specimen, that Gray described was a B. torquatus, but the new study proves that B. critinus does indeed exist.[1] The B. crinitus separated from B. torquatus in the north by more than 4 million years of evolution.[3] B.torquatus and B. crinitus are allopatrically distributed that diverged during the Early Pliocene (period of global cooling).[4]
Name
Conversation Status
On March 2025, the IUCN Red List evaluated the Southern Maned Sloth as Endangered and its populations began to decrease.
