Sloth Evolutionary Tree. But the sloths of today are very different from sloths of the past. It is predicted that these gentle giants went extinct approximately 10 000 years ago due to an expanding population of human hunters.
Evolution of sloths shows that sloths have evolved and adapted over millions of years and this article discussed six extinct species. The distant relationship between the two modern sloth genera species of two toed sloth are grouped under choloepus and three toed species under bradypus isn t immediately obvious. There are six extant sloth species in two genera bradypus and choloepus.
However new research published today in bmc evolutionary biology suggests this makes them the black sheep of the sloth family.
Known for their slow movements and inefficient digestive systems these creatures populate south american and central american rainforests. There are six extant sloth species in two genera bradypus and choloepus. Despite their similar appearances the rise of modern sloths is an interesting story of convergent evolution. But these days there are only a few small sloths and they all live in trees.
