SLOTHS AND THEIR HAIR 
ALTHoucH 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 ai, 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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