Order Edentata or Xenarthra Classification Scientific names Morphology Forms Structure

3. Presented by:
AAR

4.  Kingdom: Animalia.
 Phylum: Chordates.
 Clad: Synapsida.
 Class: Mammalia.
 Subclass: Theria.
 Infraclass: Eutheria.
 Order: Xenarthra.

5.  The word Xenarthra is derived from a Greek
word which means ‘Strange jointed ones.’
 Xenarthra are also called as Edentata which
means toothless or without teeth.
 As the animals belong to Xenarthra have no
teeth or poorly developed teeth so that’s
why this order is also named as Edentata .

6.  Anteaters: About 5 species.
 Sloths: About 5 species.
 Armadillos: About 20 species.

7.  Sloths live in trees in the rainforest, an area where
there is much rain throughout the year. This rain
leads to the growth of many trees and plants.
 Anteaters live in rainforests or in the savanna, an
area of grassland with few trees. Giant anteaters live
on the ground, and pygmy anteaters live in trees.
 Armadillos live in the rainforest, grasslands, desert,
and in deciduous forests where leaves fall off trees
during a certain season. Most armadillos burrow,
using their claws to dig holes or tunnels that serve as
their homes.

8.  Xenarthans includes Sloths, Anteaters and
Armadillos.
 They are far extant in America.

9.  They have no incisors and canines.
 Backbone is highly flexible, but in 1 dimension
only.
 Teeth (if present) lack enamel and are simple &
single-rooted.
 Smell is emphasized over other senses.
 All exploit “difficult” food resources (armadillos
less so than sloths and anteaters).
 All survivors (except armadillos) are extreme
specialists.

10.  All try to save thermoregulatory energy:
 By low body temperature or heterothermy.
 By behavior.
 Their braincase is long and cylindrical.
 Their hind foot is four toed.
 Their forefoot have two or three prominent
toes with large claws.
 Their limbs are specialized for climbing and
digging.

12.  They seem to low and lazy at first glance,
however their usual idleness is due to metabolic
adaptation to store energy.
 Sloths make good habitats for other organisms,
and a single sloth may be home to moths ,
beetles , fungi, ciliates and algae.
 Sloths are classified as folivores because their
consist of buds tenders shoot and leaves.
 Some may eats insects or small reptiles.
 Leaves, their main food source, provide very
little energy or nutrients, and do not digest
easily.
 Sloths, therefore, have large, specialized, slow-
acting stomachs with multiple compartments in
which symbiotic bacteria break down the tough
leaves.

13.  Sloths have short, flat heads, big eyes; short
snouts, long legs, and tiny ears.
 Some species have stubby tails (6–7 cm
long). Altogether, sloths' bodies usually are
between 50 and 60 cm long.
 Three-toed sloths are mostly diurnal , while
two-toed sloths are nouturnal.
 Two-toed sloths, which each have only six
cervical vertebrae, and three-toed sloths
with 9 cervical vertebrae.
 11+ month gestation; extensive maternal
care.

15.  All anteaters have elongated snouts equipped
with a thin tongue that can be extended to a
length greater than the length of the head;
their tube-shaped mouths have lips but no
teeth.
 They use their large, curved fore claws to
tear open ant and termite mounds and for
defense, while their dense and long fur
protects them from attacks from the insects.
 Front legs are powerful; each has a single,
greatly enlarged claw (3rd digit).
 Anteaters have poor sight but an excellent
sense of smell, and most species depend on
the latter for foraging, feeding, and defense.

16.  Adult males are slightly larger and more
muscular than females, and have wider
heads and necks.
 The large fore claws prevent mothers from
grasping their newborns and they therefore
have to carry the offspring until they are
self-sufficient.
 Anteaters are specialized to feed on small
insects.
 The anteater's tongue is covered with
thousands of tiny hooks called filiform
papillae which are used to hold the insects
together with large amounts of saliva.
 1 baby (rarely twins), extensive maternal
care for up to about 1 year.

18.  Armadillos are small to medium-sized mammals.
 Food is mostly invertebrates though small
vertebrates & considerable plant matter are also
consumed.
 Respiration often anaerobic; low metabolic rate.
 Total length about 75cm; mass c. 5kg
 Armadillos have short legs, but can move quite
quickly.
 Armadillos can walk underwater for short
distances, holding its breath for as long as six
minutes; also, to cross larger bodies of water, it
is capable of increasing its buoyancy by
swallowing air, inflating its stomach and
intestines.

19.  Armadillos have very poor eyesight, and use
their keen sense of smell to hunt for food
 They dig their burrows with their claws, making
only a single corridor the width of the animal's
body.
 They have five clawed toes on their hind feet,
and three to five toes with heavy digging claws
on their fore feet.
 Their gestation last from 60 to 120 days
depending upon the type of species.
 The young are born with soft, leathery skin,
which hardens within a few weeks.
 They reach sexual maturity in three to 12
months, depending on the species.
 Armadillos are solitary animals that do not share
their burrows with other adults.