Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) become extinct before 2100 due to climate change

NEWS - Sloths may not survive the significant temperature increases predicted to occur by 2100. The notoriously slow-moving creatures native to Central and South America may face an existential threat from climate change, researchers say.

Research examining the metabolic response of sloths to rising temperatures suggests that the animals’ energy constraints could make survival untenable by the end of the century, particularly for high-altitude populations.

Rebecca Cliffe of the Sloth Conservation Foundation in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and colleagues investigated how Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni), which live in highland and lowland areas, respond to varying ambient temperatures.

Using indirect calorimetry, the researchers measured the sloths’ oxygen consumption and core body temperature under conditions that mimic projected climate change. The findings suggest a troubling future for sloths, particularly those living in high-altitude areas.

"Sloths are limited by their slow metabolism and inability to regulate body temperature effectively, unlike most mammals. We show that sloths, especially in high-altitude areas, may not be able to survive the significant temperature increases predicted to occur by 2100," Cliffe said.

Original research

Cliffe RN, Ewart HE, Scantlebury DM, Kennedy S, Avey-Arroyo J, Mindich D, Wilson RP. (2024). Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios. PeerJ 12:e18168, DOI:10.7717/peerj.18168

Dlium theDlium

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...

Chameleon forest dragon (Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus)

Bunglon hutan or chameleon anglehead lizard or chameleon forest dragon ( Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus ) is an animal species in Agamidae, having a larger size than other species, the most unique head shape and has the ability to change color by changing mood rather than for camouflage. Morphology G. chamaeleontinus has a total length of 40 cm, the muzzle to the buttocks is 16 cm, the base color is green with orange, yellow to brownish spots and sexual dimorphism. The eyes are protected by a movable eyelid surrounded by a slightly darker color, while males have a bright blue color around the eyes. Short head with a triangle and thorns above the eyes. Medium-sized head scales, vary, smooth and have a little tubercle that extends above the ear. Heterodont teeth with acrodont type and dorsal tongue are covered by reticular papillae. The upper labial scale consists of 10-12 units and the lower labial scale consists of 11-14 units. Dorsal body scales are composed of small and fine ...

Fern tree (Filicium decipiens)

Kerai payung or fern tree ( Filicium decipiens ) is a plant species in Sapindaceae, a tree that is always green with thick and round canopies such as umbrellas, 5-10 m high but old specimens in nature can exceed 25 m, upright stems, gray bark ash to reddish brown, smooth when young but rough and cracked when mature. F. decipiens has large, fern-like and conspicuous leaves, up to 40 cm long and made of elongated longitudinal, glossy green leaflets arranged in pairs. Leaves on stems with a length of 3-10 cm, alternating, imparipinnat, 15-30 cm long and 12-15 cm wide. Winged rachis with 6-12 pairs of opposite or sub-opposite leaflets, sessile, oblong-lanceolate with full margins and slightly wavy, 6-12 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, coriaceous, dark green and glossy above. Flowers grow on stems with a length of 7 cm as panicles for lengths of 15-30 cm which carry many small, unisexual flowers and hermaphrodites with a diameter of 0.4-0.6 cm. Pentaparted petals with imbricate ovate lobes, fi...

Dlium