what mammal on display in the zoo is most closely related to the sloth?

Sloth Bear
Sloth Bear Washington DC.jpg
Francois, a sloth bear in captivity at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Data
Common Name Stickney Deport and Labiated Bear
Range India, Nepal, Bhutan and People's republic of bangladesh.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Form Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Ursidae
Genus Melursus
Species Melursus ursinus
Conservation Status
VUSpecies.png
Vulnerable

The Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), as well known as the Stickney conduct or labiated comport, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bears found wild within the Indian Subcontinent. The sloth deport evolved from ancestral brownish bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution. The population isolated in Sri Lanka is considered a subspecies. Different brown and black bears, sloth bears take lankier builds, long, shaggy coats that grade a mane effectually the face, long, sickle-shaped claws, and a specially adapted lower lip and palate used for sucking insects. Sloth bears brood during spring and early summer and give birth virtually the beginning of wintertime. They feed on termites, honeybee colonies, and fruits. Sloth bears sometimes attack humans who encroach on their territories. Historically, humans have drastically reduced their habitat and diminished their population by hunting them for food and products such as their bacula and claws. These bears have been used every bit performing pets due to their tameable nature.

Contents

  • 1 Naming and Etymology
    • 1.1 Local Names
  • 2 Evolution
  • 3 Physical Clarification
  • 4 Behavior
    • 4.1 Reproduction

Naming and Etymology

Initially thought to be related to the South American sloths, Shaw and Nodder in 1791 called the species Bradypus ursinus, noting that information technology was carry-like, but giving weight to the long claws and the absence of upper center incisors. Meyer (1793) identified information technology as a bear and called it Melursus lybius, and in 1817, de Blainville chosen information technology Ursus labiatus because of the long lips. Iliger called it Prochilus hirsutus, the Greek genus name indicating long lips, while the specific name noted its long and coarse hair. Fischer called it Chondrorhynchus hirsutus, while Tiedemann called it Ursus longirostris.

Local Names

Evolution

Sloth bears may take reached their current course in the early Pleistocene, the time when the behave family specialized and dispersed. A fragment of fossilized humerus from the Pleistocene, found in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool Basin is identical to the modern sloth bears. The fossilized skulls of a bear once named Melursus theobaldi institute in the Shivaliks from the early Pleistocene or early Pliocene are idea by certain authors to represent an intermediate stage betwixt sloth bears and ancestral brown bears. M. theobaldi itself had teeth intermediate in size between sloth bears and other bear species, though its palate was the same size every bit the erstwhile species, leading to the theory that it is the sloth bear's straight antecedent. Sloth bears probably arose during the mid-Pliocene and evolved in the Indian Subcontinent. The sloth bear bears evidence of having undergone a convergent evolution similar to that of other ant-eating mammals.

Physical Description

Sloth bears are distinguished from Asian black bears past their lankier builds, longer, shaggier coats, stake muzzles and white claws. Adult sloth bears are medium-sized bears, weighing effectually 130 kg (290 lb) on average, though weight can range variously from 55 to 124 kg (121 to 273 lb) in females and from 80 to 192 kg (176 to 423 lb) in males. They are 60–90 cm (ii–3 ft) high at the shoulder, and have a body length of 1.iv–ane.ix g (iv.6–6.three ft). Females are smaller than males, and have more fur betwixt the shoulders.

Sloth bear muzzles are thick and long, with small-scale jaws and bulbous snouts with broad nostrils. They take long lower lips which can exist stretched over the outer border of their noses, and lack upper incisors, thus allowing them to suck upwards large numbers of insects. The premolars and molars are smaller than in other bears, as they do not chew equally much vegetation. In adults, the teeth are usually in poor condition, due to the amount of soil they suck up and chew when feeding on insects. The dorsum of the palate is long and broad, equally is typical in other emmet-eating mammals. The paws are disproportionately large, and have highly adult, sickle-shaped, edgeless claws which measure iv in (ten cm) in length. Their toe pads are continued by a hairless web. They have the longest tail in the comport family unit, which tin grow to 6–7 in. Their back legs are not very strong, though they are knee-jointed, and allow them to presume almost any position. The ears are very large and floppy. The sloth bear is the only comport with long hair on its ears.

Sloth comport fur is completely black (rusty for some specimens), salve for a whitish Y- or Five-shaped marking on the chest. This feature is sometimes absent, particularly in Sri Lankan specimens. This characteristic, which is also present in Asian black bears and sun bears, is thought to serve as a threat display, as all three species are sympatric with tigers. The coat is long, shaggy, and unkempt, despite the relatively warm environs in which the species is found, and is especially heavy behind the cervix and between the shoulders, forming a mane which can be 30 cm (12 in) long. The belly and nether legs are almost bare.

Behavior

Developed sloth bears may travel in pairs, with the males being gentle with cubs. They may fight for nutrient. They walk in a slow, shambling motility, with their feet existence set down in a noisy, flapping motion. They are capable of galloping faster than running humans. Although they appear slow and clumsy, sloth bears are first-class climbers, including cubs. They climb to feed and rest, though not to escape enemies, equally they prefer to stand their ground. Sloth bear mothers carry cubs upwards to 9 months-quondam on their backs instead of sending their cubs up trees equally the primary defense against attacks by predators, such as tigers, leopards, and other bears. They are capable of climbing on smooth surfaces and hanging upside down like sloths. They are good swimmers, and primarily enter water to play. To mark their territories, sloth bears will scrape trees with their forepaws, and rub confronting them with their flanks. Sloth bears have a bully vocal range. Gary Brown, in his Cracking Deport Almanac, lists over 25 different sounds in 16 different contexts. Sounds such every bit barks, screams, grunts, roars, snarls, whickers, woofs, and yelps are made when angered, threatening, or when fighting. When hurt or afraid, they shriek, yowl, or whimper. When feeding, sloth bears make loud huffing and sucking noises, which can be heard over 100 g away. Sounds such every bit gurgling or humming are made by bears resting or sucking their paws. Sows will emit crooning sounds to their cubs. The species is the most vociferous when mating, and make loud, melodious calls when doing so. Sloth bears practice not hibernate. They brand their twenty-four hour period beds out of broken branches in trees, and remainder in caves during the wet season. Sloth bears are the most nocturnal of bears, though sows become more agile in daytime when with cubs.

Reproduction

The breeding season for sloth bears varies according to location: in India, they mate in April, May, and June, and give birth in December and early January, while in Sri Lanka, it occurs all year. Sows gestate for 210 days, and typically requite birth in caves or in shelters under boulders. Litters usually consist of one or two cubs, or rarely three. Cubs are born blind, and open their eyes afterwards four weeks.[v] Sloth bear cubs develop quickly compared to nearly other bear species: they will offset walking a month afterward birth, become independent at 24–36 months, and get sexually mature at the historic period of three years. Young cubs volition ride on their mother's dorsum when she walks, runs, or climbs trees until they accomplish a 3rd of her size. Individual riding positions are maintained by cubs through fighting. Intervals between litters tin last ii to three years.

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Source: https://animals.fandom.com/wiki/Sloth_Bear

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