Choloepus didactylus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	PILOSA	MEGALONYCHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Choloepus didactylus

Species Authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Linné'S Two-toed Sloth, Southern Two-toed Sloth

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Meritt, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group

Evaluator/s:

da Fonseca, G.A.B. (Edentate Red List Authority) & Berridge, R. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, its occurrence in a number of protected areas, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

History:

2006	–	Least Concern (IUCN 2006)
1996	–	Data Deficient (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species ranges through Venezuela (the delta and south of the Río Orinoco) and the Guianas (French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname) south into Brazil (Maranhão state west along the Rio Amazonas/Solimões) and west into the upper Amazon Basin of Ecuador and Peru. It ranges from sea level up to 2,438 m asl (Britton 1941).
Countries:	Native: Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Peru; Suriname; Venezuela
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	In Suriname, it has been found at densities of 0.9 animals per hectare (Tauber et al. 1999).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It is found in tropical moist lowland and montane forest.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to this species. Because they are usually found high in the canopy, motionless and virtually invisible, they're not as commonly hunted as armadillos or tamanduas, and there are taboos against their consumption by some native groups. They are probably hunted opportunistically, but there is no serious bushmeat trade. They are, however, increasingly caught for sale as pets to internal tourists in Colombia (Moreno and Plese 2006).

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species. Because they are usually found high in the canopy, motionless and virtually invisible, they're not as commonly hunted as armadillos or tamanduas, and there are taboos against their consumption by some native groups. They are probably hunted opportunistically, but there is no serious bushmeat trade. They are, however, increasingly caught for sale as pets to internal tourists in Colombia (Moreno and Plese 2006).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It is present in many protected areas.

Conservation Actions:

It is present in many protected areas.

Citation:	Meritt, M. & Members of the IUCN SSC Edentate Specialist Group 2008. Choloepus didactylus. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 November 2008.
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