Subspecies
There are seven recognized subspecies of the brown-throated sloth, although these are not all readily distinguishable:
- Bradypus variegatus boliviensis
- Bradypus variegatus brasiliensis
- Bradypus variegatus ephippiger
- Bradypus variegatus gorgon
- Bradypus variegatus infuscatus
- Bradypus variegatus trivittatus
- Bradypus variegatus variegatus
The closest living relative of the species is the pale-throated sloth, which has a very similar appearance, except for the color of the fur around the throat. The two species are estimated to have diverged just 400,000 years ago, whereas their ancestors diverged from the maned sloth over 7 million years ago.
Read more about this topic: Brown-throated Sloth