|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
sloth
sloth , arboreal mammal found in Central and South America distantly related to armadillos and anteaters. Sloths live in tropical forests, where they sleep, eat, and travel through the trees suspended upside down, clinging to branches with the powerful curved claws of their forelimbs and hindlimbs. Algae that grow on the hair impart a greenish color to the coat so that it blends with the foliage. There is no tail. The three-toed sloth ( Bradypus ) is about the size of a house cat, with a dense, furry coat and yellowish face. It has three toes on the front feet and five on the hind feet. It feeds almost exclusively on the leaves, buds, and stems of Cecropia, a tropical relative of the mulberry. The somewhat larger two-toed sloth ( Choloepus ) has very long hair. It eats a less restricted vegetarian diet. Sloths move sluggishly but can strike swiftly and powerfully if attacked. Huge ground sloths (see megatherium ) are extinct forms. Sloths are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Edentata, family Bradypodidae. |
|
|
Cite this article
"sloth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sloth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sloth.html "sloth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sloth.html |
|
sloth
sloth / slô[unvoicedth]; slä[unvoicedth]; slō[unvoicedth]/ • n. 1. reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness. 2. a slow-moving tropical American mammal that hangs upside down from the branches of trees using its long limbs and hooked claws. The families are Bradypodidae (three species of three-toed sloth in genus Bradypus) and Megalonychidae (two species of two-toed sloth in genus Choloepus), order Xenarthra (or Edentata). |
|
|
Cite this article
"sloth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sloth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sloth.html "sloth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sloth.html |
|
sloth
sloth Any of several species of slow-moving, herbivorous Central and South American mammals. It has long limbs with long claws, and spends most of its life climbing in trees, where it generally hangs upside down. Length: to 60cm (2ft); weight: to 5.5kg (12lb). Family Brachipodidae.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"sloth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sloth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-sloth.html "sloth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-sloth.html |
|
sloth
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "sloth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "sloth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sloth.html T. F. HOAD. "sloth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sloth.html |
|
Sloth
Slothof bears: a company of bears—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Sloth." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sloth." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301416.html "Sloth." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301416.html |
|
sloth
sloth See BRADYPODOIDEA.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "sloth." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "sloth." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-sloth.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "sloth." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-sloth.html |
|
sloth
sloth
•both, growth, loath, oath, quoth, sloth, Thoth, troth
•outgrowth • upgrowth
•undergrowth
|
|
|
Cite this article
"sloth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sloth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sloth.html "sloth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sloth.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
