NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Brown-throated Sloth

Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) is a species of three-toed sloth found in the Neotropical realm of Central and South America.

It is the most common of the five species of three-toed sloth, and is found in the forests of South and Central America in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Although they once lived in Argentina, they are now believed to be extinct there.

Wikipedia contributors, Brown-throated sloth; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:08.951593+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name: Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825
Name authority: Schinz, 1825
Common name: Brown-throated Sloth
Rank: species
Accepted status: accepted
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: Bradypodidae
Genus: Bradypus
Extinction status: Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
kingdomAnimalia
phylumChordata
subphylumVertebrata
infraphylumGnathostomata
parvphylumOsteichthyes
megaclassTetrapoda
classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
orderPilosa Flower, 1883
suborderFolivora Delsuc, Catzeflis, Stanhope & Douzery, 2001
familyBradypodidae Gray, 1821
genusBradypus Linnaeus, 1758
speciesBradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Bradypus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Species	Classification	Source status
Pale-throated SlothBradypus tridactylus Linnaeus, 1758	BradypodidaeChordata	Accepted speciesRecorded extant
Pygmy Three-toed SlothBradypus pygmaeus Anderson & Handley, 2001	BradypodidaeChordata	Accepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 3 records assigned to Bradypodidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded name	Source status
Arctopithecus griseus Gray, 1871 Gray, 1871	synonym
Arctopithecus castaneiceps Gray, 1871 Gray, 1871	synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Middle America

South America

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=624888 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:N5F8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.