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A Southern Extension of the
Geographic Distribution of the Two-Toed Sloth, Choloepus didactylus (Xenarthra, Megalonichidae)
We demonstrate that the eastern part of the distribution of this species extends further south than previously known. A local man found a skull of C. didactylus in the nearby plantation of Fazenda do Tenente, Japuranã district (10º03’56.6’’S, 58º00’02.3’’W), municipality of Nova Bandeirantes. This area is located in the Juruena interfluve between the Rios Juruena and Teles Pires. The specimen, an adult skull without the mandible, is now in the MPEG mammal collection (MPEG 36871). This new record suggests that the presumed absence of this species in south-central and eastern Amazonia may be an artifact of undersampling, which has been an impediment to understanding the diversity and biogeography of Neotropical fauna (Silva et al., 2001; Silva Júnior, 1998; Vivo, 1996). Surveys covering this entire region would most likely indicate that C. didactylus has a wider geographic distribution within the forests of Amazonia than now understood.  Skull of the two-toed sloth, now in the mammal collection of Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG 36871)
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Trinca, C.T.; Palmeira, F.B.L. & Silva Júnior, J.S. 2006. A Southern Extension of the Geographic Distribution of the Two-Toed Sloth, Choloepus didactylus (Xenarthra, Megalonychidae). Edentata,7:7-9. |
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