Xenarthra

Xenarthra is a superorder of placental mammals comprising armadillos, sloths, and anteaters. Its living members share distinctive extra articulations between vertebrae in the lower back.

Armadillo: An armored mammal in the xenarthran order Cingulata, native to the Americas. Armadillos are the living xenarthrans with bony armor.
Osteoderm: A bony plate formed within the skin of some vertebrates. Osteoderms form the protective armor of armadillos.
South American land mammal age: The Cenozoic interval when South America’s mammal fauna evolved in relative geographic isolation. Xenarthrans diversified within this distinctive evolutionary setting.
Giant anteater: The largest living anteater species, native to Central and South America. This species illustrates the ecological specialization and conservation needs of living xenarthrans.
Afrotheria: A placental mammal clade that includes elephants, manatees, aardvarks, and tenrecs. Afrotheria is another deep placental lineage, with a different geographic and evolutionary history.
Sloth: A slow-moving arboreal mammal in the xenarthran suborder Folivora. Sloths form one of Xenarthra’s two living branches without armor.
Xenarthran metabolism: The physiology by which xenarthrans obtain and use energy, often associated with low body temperatures and metabolic rates. Low metabolic rates help explain the distinctive energy budgets of sloths and other xenarthrans.
Great American Biotic Interchange: The exchange of terrestrial organisms between North and South America after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. Some xenarthrans dispersed north during this major faunal exchange.
Three-toed sloth: A genus of arboreal sloths with three digits on each forelimb. Its slow arboreal life offers a focused case for studying sloth ecology.
Boreoeutheria: A major placental mammal clade containing Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires. Most familiar placental mammals belong to this clade rather than Xenarthra.

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