Sloth Bear - Naming and Etymology

Naming and Etymology

Initially thought to be related to the South American sloths, Shaw and Nodder in 1791 called it Bradypus ursinus noting that it was bear-like but giving weight to the long claws and the absence of upper middle incisors. Meyer (1793) identified it as a bear and called it Melursus lybius and in 1817, de Blainville called it 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.