Ancient sloths ranged in size from tiny climbers to ground-dwelling giants. Now, researchers report this body size diversity was largely shaped by sloths’ habitats, and that these animals ...

References [1] Palaeoproteomics resolves sloth relationships. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2019). [2] Gregariousness in the giant sloth Lestodon. Scientific Reports (2020).

Tree-dwelling sloths, on the other hand, remained small, averaging about 14 pounds, because branches impose a strict weight limit — they simply cannot support large animals without breaking.

Getting to know Coconut Coconut is a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, which has a body that consists of a short neck, four long limbs of equal length, coarse fur, curved claws that are typically 3 to ...