The sloth family tree once sported a dizzying array of branches, body sizes and lifestyles, from small and limber tree climbers to lumbering bear-sized landlubbers.
Why sloth body size was once so diverse, while today’s sloths are limited to just two diminutive tree-dwellers, has been a long-standing question. Scientists have proposed that sloths’ body size might be linked to a wide variety of factors: habitat preferences, diets, changes in global temperature, or pressure from large predators or humans.
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