披毛目（Pilosa）,源自拉丁文 pilosa (多毛),指的是所有這些品種都非常多毛.

Pilosa, from Latin pilosa (“hairy”), in reference to the fact that all these species are extremely hairy.

種的俗名 Common names of members

巨型食蟻獸,小食蟻獸,侏食蟻獸,樹懶.

Giant anteater, tamanduas, silky anteaters and sloths.

分佈 Distribution

中美洲和南美洲.

Central and South America.

體型 Size

體型大小不一：小型侏食蚁兽-35 公分、樹懶-50-70 公分、大食蚁兽-180 公分長

Size varies: small silky anteater: 35 cm, sloths: 50-70 cm, giant anteater: 180 cm long

形態描述 Morphology

真食蟻獸：牠們的嘴巴延伸得很長,擁有一條細長的舌頭,舌頭上覆蓋著來自增大的下頜腺的粘稠唾液.沒有牙齒,嘴巴也很小.前足的第三根手指有巨大的爪子,用於撬開白蟻和螞蟻的巢穴.其他手指通常缺失或非常小.毛皮厚實,覆蓋整個身體.除了巨型食蟻獸外,所有物種都有長長的抓握尾巴,在某些情況下,尾巴甚至比身體的其餘部分還要長,並且毛發的覆蓋程度各不相同.

樹懶：牠們有長長的四肢,配有強壯的爪子,能夠懸掛在樹上.牠們的頭部短而扁平,擁有大眼睛和短鼻子.耳朵和尾巴非常小,難以觀察.牠們的毛髮從腹部和四肢向背部生長.毛發長而厚,是藻類和昆蟲的生長場所.

披毛目的顯著特徵之一是牠們的脊椎關節,這些關節具有額外的關節,與其他哺乳動物不同.此外,骨盆的坐骨與脊椎的薦骨融合在一起.

True anteaters: Their snouts are extended to a great extent, and they have a long, thin tongue covered in sticky saliva from enlarged submaxillary glands. There are no teeth and the mouth is tiny. The third digit of the frontal feet has enormous claws that are used to pry apart termite and ant mounds. The other digits are typically absent or very tiny. The fur is thick and covers the entire body. With the exception of the giant anteater, all species have prehensile tails that are long—in some cases longer than the rest of the body—and clothed in varied degrees of fur.

Sloths: They have long limbs with strong claws for hanging on trees. Their heads are short and flat with big eyes and a short snout. Their ears and tail are very tiny and are hard to observe. Their hair grows in a direction from belly and limbs to the back. Their hair is long and thick and is a growing place for algae and insects.

One of the factors that helps in the characterization of Pilosa is their vertebral joints, which have extra articulations that are unlike other mammals. Also, the ischium of the pelvis is fused to the sacrum of the spine.

生態與棲息地 Habitat & Ecology

食蚁兽： 乾燥的熱帶森林、雨林、草原和稀樹草原.

樹懶： 雨林.

Anteaters: Dry tropical forests, rainforests, grasslands, and savannas.

Sloths: Rainforests.

食性 Diet

樹懶：雜食性的兩趾樹懶攝取各種食物,包括昆蟲、腐肉、水果、葉子和小蜥蜴,其活動範圍可達140公頃.相比之下,三趾樹懶主要食用少數植物的葉子,幾乎完全是草食性的.

食蟻獸：每個物種專門以某種特定的昆蟲為食；小型物種主要對生活在小樹枝上的樹棲昆蟲感興趣,而大型物種則能夠刺穿地面昆蟲巢的堅硬外殼.

Sloth: The omnivorous two-toed sloth consumes a wide variety of foods, including insects, carrion, fruits, leaves, and small lizards, and their range can reach up to 140 hectares. In contrast, three-toed sloths consume mostly leaves from a small number of plants and are virtually exclusively herbivorous.

Anteater: Each species is specialized to feed on a certain kind of insect; tiny species are primarily interested in arboreal insects that live on little branches, while giant species are able to pierce the hard covering of terrestrial insect nests.

繁殖 Reproduction

雄性和雌性僅在交配期間相遇.雌性每年產下1隻幼仔.幼仔將被背在母親的背上.

Males and females only meet during mating. Females give birth to 1 offspring per year. The baby will be carried on the mother's back.

在香港已知的物種

Total species known

10

已知的物種

Species in the collection

3

博物館收藏的物種

Species in Hong Kong

0

References

- Eisenberg, J. F., Redford, K. H. (1999). Mammals of the Neotropics. 3: The Central neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil. University of Chicago Press.