Table of Contents
Evolution and Systematics
Functional Adaptations
Functional adaptation
Curved spine deals with tension: sloth
"The sloth spends most of its life hanging upside-down from branches. Its skeleton therefore has to cope with tension rather than compression. When it leaves its tree, its belly drags on the ground, because its curved spine is designed to support its body weight from below, not from above, and its legs are too weak to support it." (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:37)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
The spine of a sloth supports its body weight under tension via curved shape.
"The sloth spends most of its life hanging upside-down from branches. Its skeleton therefore has to cope with tension rather than compression. When it leaves its tree, its belly drags on the ground, because its curved spine is designed to support its body weight from below, not from above, and its legs are too weak to support it." (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:37)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Foy, Sally; Oxford Scientific Films. 1982. The Grand Design: Form and Colour in Animals. Lingfield, Surrey, U.K.: BLA Publishing Limited for J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd, Aldine House, London. 238 p.
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Barcode
Locations of barcode samples
Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Bradypodidae 
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Statistics of barcoding coverage
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
| Specimen Records: | 9 |
| Specimens with Sequences: | 7 |
| Specimens with Barcodes: | 6 |
| Public Records: | 6 |
| Species: | 2 |
| Species With Barcodes: | 2 |
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Barcode data
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