SLOTHS AND THEIR HAIR 



ALTHOUGH the name " sloth " is not infrequently mis- 

 applied by travellers to the slow-lemurs of India and 

 the Malay countries, or to their cousins the galagos of 

 Africa, it should properly be restricted to certain peculiar 

 mammals inhabiting the tropical forests of Central and 

 South America. In addition to the simple character of their 

 teeth, which are confined to the sides of the jaws, sloths 

 are characterised by their short faces, rudimentary tails, 

 shaggy coats, and hook-like claws, by means of which 

 they hang suspended, back-downwards, from the branches 

 of the trees among which their lives are spent. Two very 

 distinct types of these animals are known, readily distin- 

 guished by the number of toes on the fore-limb. In the 

 one form the three-toed sloth there are three claws on 

 each foot, both in the front and the hind limbs. But in 

 the other the two-toed sloth there are only two claws 

 on each of the fore-feet. 



These, however, are by no means the only differences 

 between the two types (and I say types rather than 

 species, because it is quite probable that each modification 

 has more than a single specific representative). In the 

 first place, there is a difference in the form and position 

 of the first tooth in each jaw. In the three-toed sloth, 

 or a'i, for instance, this tooth is similar in form to those 

 behind it, from the first of which it is separated by a 



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