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| Two toed sloth |
There are 2 types of sloths on this rainforest island in the
Panama Canal. You can easily tell them
apart by their coloration and how many claws they have on their front
legs. Sloths dig their long sharp claws
into a branch to hold on while they are hanging upside down in the canopy layer
of the rainforest. Three-toed sloths
have the slowest digestive rate of all mammals and they also have a very slow
metabolism. Sloths live in a mutualistic
situation with algae and moths. Both of these live in sloth fur. The algae supplies both green camouflage
coloration and a food source for the sloth who scrapes the algae off its fur
with its claws and eats it. The algae
benefits by having a constant supply of water and exposure to some sunshine for
photosynthesis.
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| Three toed sloth |
Fur of the three-toed
sloth is adapted for holding rainwater in crosswise grooves. Moths also live in sloth fur. These moths require that the three-toed sloth
come down to the ground to poop. Mother
moths from the sloth lay their eggs on the sloth poop and the larvae hatch on
the poop and eat it. When the larvae go
through metamorphosis and become adults, the adults fly back into the sloth
fur. Moths supply a necessary element
(nitrogen) to sloths and sloths make it possible for moths to complete their
life cycle. This is another example of
mutualism.
If you want to read more about sloths, here are four interesting
links for you:
- Fran Zakutansky
1 comment:
Thanks foor posting this
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