- Pilosa
Taxobox
name = PilosaMSW3 Gardner|pages=100-103]
fossil_range =Paleocene to Recent
image_width = 250px
image_caption =Giant Anteater "Myrmecophaga tridactyla"
regnum =Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
superordo =Xenarthra
ordo = Pilosa
ordo_authority = Flower,1883
subdivision_ranks =Suborder s
subdivision =Vermilingua - anteatersFolivora - slothsThe order Pilosa is a group of placental
mammal s, extant today only in the Americas. It includes theanteater s andsloth s.The origins of the order can be traced back as far as the early
Tertiary (about 60 million years ago, or only a short time after the end of the dinosaur era). The presence of these animals inNorth America is explained by theGreat American Interchange .Until recently, Pilosa was lumped with the
armadillo s in the orderXenarthra . Xenarthra is now generally regarded as a superorder. In the past, these families were classified together withpangolin s and theAardvark as the orderEdentata (meaning toothless, because the members do not have front incisor teeth or molars, or have poorly-developed molars). It was subsequently realized that Edentata waspolyphyletic —that it contained unrelatedfamilies and was thus invalid.Classification
Order Pilosa
* SuborderVermilingua
** FamilyCyclopedidae
***Silky Anteater , "Cyclopes didactylus"
** FamilyMyrmecophagidae
***Giant Anteater , "Myrmecophaga tridactyla"
***Northern Tamandua , "Tamandua mexicana"
***Southern Tamandua , "Tamandua tetradactyla"
* SuborderFolivora
** FamilyBradypodidae : three-toed sloths
***Pygmy Three-toed Sloth , "Bradypus pygmaeus"
***Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth , "Bradypus variegatus"
***Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth , "Bradypus tridactylus"
***Maned Three-toed Sloth , "Bradypus torquatus"
** FamilyMegalonychidae : two-toed sloths
***Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth , "Choloepus hoffmanni"
***Southern Two-toed Sloth , "Choloepus didactylus"References
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