#slothposting

My observations on how to identify the sloth species apart from one another:

Telling two-toed from three-toed is as easy as their names suggest. The amount of claws that varies between them is specifically the ones on their forelimbs. Two-toeds specfically also have psuedo-canines, while their three-toed bretheren do not.

Three Toed Sloths:

Brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) - Has a brown throat. Typically has eye markings that extend to the sides of the face.

Pale-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) - Has a pale throat. Eye markings are almost nonexistent, or very thin and do not connect to the brown fur framing the pale fur on its face.

Northern/Southern maned three-toed sloth (Bradypus torquatus/crinitus) - Has a black mane on the back of its neck and has a coconut-like face. While I can identify when a sloth is one of these two species, do not ask me to identify which one, I will cry. Supposedly, the southern have "have flatter skulls, rounder jaws, and wider cheekbones than the northern maned sloths" and are generally grayer than the northern but that means nothing to me, as I'm a visual learner.

Pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) - Looks like a brown-throated three-toed sloth, but obviously smaller. In fact, I'm not entirely sure if I could tell it apart from them without something else for scale.

Two-Toed Sloths:

Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) - Dark brown fur on their face, with darker noses.

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) - Cream-colored fur around their faces, and pink-to-dark beige colored noses.