page_title: Two-toed sloth
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Two-toed sloth / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: English: Two toed sloth at Cincinnati Zoo
context_page_description: Choloepus is a genus of xenarthran mammals of Central and South America within the monotypic family Choloepodidae, consisting of two-toed sloths. The two species of Choloepus, Linnaeus's two-toed sloth and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, 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.
context_section_description: The name "two-toed sloth" was intended to describe an anatomical difference between the genera Choloepus and Bradypus, but does so in a potentially misleading way. Members of Choloepus have two digits on their forelimbs (the thoracic limbs) and three digits on their hindlimbs (the pelvic limbs), while members of Bradypus have three digits on all limbs. Although the term "two-fingered" sloth is arguably less misleading, the shorter "two-toed" is much more widely used.
  Members of Choloepus are larger than three-toed sloths, having a body length of 58 to 70 centimetres (23 to 28 in), and weighing 4 to 8 kilograms (8.8 to 17.6 lb). Other distinguishing features include a more prominent snout, longer fur, and the absence of a tail.
caption: Display of two "fingers" on forelimbs and three toes on hindlimbs
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