| Bradypodicola hahneli | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pyralidae |
| Genus: | Bradypodicola Spuler, 1906 |
| Species: | B. hahneli |
| Binomial name | |
| Bradypodicola hahneli Spuler, 1906 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Bradypodicola hahneli is a sloth moth in the Pyralidae family that lives exclusively in the fur of the Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), a three-toed sloth found in South America.[1] It is the only species of the Bradypodicola genus.[2]
The three-toed sloth’s fur forms a micro-ecozone inhabited by green algae and hundred of insects. The fur provides a home and protection for the moth which feeds on the algae. It also deposits its eggs in the droppings of the sloth, where they pupate and hatch, and the newly hatched moths fly off to look for another sloth to live on.[3]