Editing Sloth bear (section)

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Slothbearskulls.jpg|thumb|Skulls of a Sri Lankan sloth bear (left) and a common sloth bear (right) from the [[Muséum national d'histoire naturelle]]]]

Sloth bears adults are medium-sized bears. The typical weight range for females is from {{cvt|55|to|105|kg}}, and for males is from {{cvt|80|to|145|kg}}. Exceptionally large female specimens can reach {{cvt|124|kg}} and males up to {{cvt|192|kg}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Rate of Metabolism in the Termite-Eating Sloth Bear (Ursus ursinus) |author=McNab, Brian K. |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=73 |issue=1 |year=1992 |pages=168–172 |doi=10.2307/1381879|jstor=1381879 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.arkive.org/sloth-bear/melursus-ursinus/ |title=Sloth bear videos, photos and facts – Melursus ursinus |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=168–172 |jstor=1381879 |publisher=ARKive |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324183615/http://www.arkive.org/sloth-bear/melursus-ursinus/ |archive-date=24 March 2011 |url-status=dead  |last1=McNab |first1=Brian K. |year=1992 |doi=10.2307/1381879 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="hadley">{{citation |author=Hadley, B. |url=http://www.iar.org.uk/media/downloads/iar-sloth-bears.pdf |title=The Sloth Bear |publisher=[[Bear Specialist Group]] |date=21 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221085543/http://www.iar.org.uk/media/downloads/iar-sloth-bears.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2008  }}</ref><ref>Johnsingh, A. J. T., & Manjrekar, N. (Eds.). (2013). ''Mammals of South Asia''. Universities Press.</ref> The average weight of sloth bears from the nominate subspecies in [[Nepal]] was {{cvt|95|kg}} in females and {{cvt|114|kg}} in males.<ref>Joshi, A. R., Smith, J. L., & Garshelis, D. L. (1999). ''[https://www.academia.edu/9971477 Sociobiology of the myrmecophagous sloth bear in Nepal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210170616/https://www.academia.edu/9971477 |date=10 February 2023 }}''. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77(11), 1690–1704.</ref> Nominate bears in [[India]] were found to weigh average {{cvt|93.2|kg}} in males and {{cvt|83.3|kg}} in female per one study.<ref>Shanmugam, A. A., Kumar, J. K., Selvaraj, I., & Selvaraj, V. (2008). ''[http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/pdf/10.7589/0090-3558-44.2.509 Hematology of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus ursinus) from two locations in India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210170616/https://meridian.allenpress.com/jwd |date=10 February 2023 }}''. Journal of wildlife Diseases, 44(2), 509–518.</ref> Specimens from [[Sri Lanka]] (''M. u. inornatus'') may weigh up to {{cvt|68.2|kg}} in females and {{cvt|104.5|kg}} in males.<ref name="deSilva">de Silva Wijeyeratne, G. (2016). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OyoXDAAAQBAJ&q=%22sloth+bear%22 Mammals of Sri Lanka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210170618/https://books.google.com/books?id=OyoXDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=snippet&q=%22sloth%20bear%22&f=false |date=10 February 2023 }}''. Bloomsbury Publishing.</ref> However six Sri Lankan male sloth bears averaged only {{cvt|74.8|kg}}, and {{cvt|57.5|kg}} was the average for four females, so Sri Lankan bears could be around 30% lighter in body mass than nominate race bears and with more pronounced size sexual dimorphism.<ref name="deSilva" /><ref>Ratnayeke, S., Van Manen, F. T., & Padmalal, U. K. G. K. (2007). ''[http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.2981/0909-6396(2007)13%5B272%3AHRAHUO%5D2.0.CO%3B2 Home ranges and habitat use of sloth bears Melursus ursinus inornatus in Wasgomuwa National Park, Sri Lanka]''. Wildlife Biology, 13(3), 272–284.</ref> They are {{cvt|60|–|92|cm|ftin}} high at the shoulder, and have a body length of {{cvt|1.4|–|1.9|m|ftin}}.<ref name="brown">[[#Brown|Brown]], "Bear Anatomy and Physiology"</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/bear_sloth.html |title=Sloth Bear |publisher=The Animal Files |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929052728/https://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/bear_sloth.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://arktofile.net/pages/bear_sloth.html |title=Sloth Bear |publisher=Arktofile.net |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-date=31 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831143640/http://arktofile.net/pages/bear_sloth.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-sloth_bear.html |title=San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: Sloth Bear |publisher=Sandiegozoo.org |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-date=12 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612234502/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-sloth_bear.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Grzimek">Grzimek, B. (1990). ''Grzimeck's Encyclopedia of mammals'' (No. 599.03 G7).</ref> Besides being smaller than males, females reportedly typically have more fur between their shoulders.<ref name="hunt">{{cite book |author=Storey, Harry |title=Hunting and Shooting in Ceylon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOxoRzoD9PsC&pg=PA268 |date=2008 |publisher=Dabney Press |isbn=978-1-4097-2852-8 |pages=268– |access-date=29 October 2016 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210170619/https://books.google.com/books?id=WOxoRzoD9PsC&pg=PA268 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sloth bear muzzles are thick and long, with small jaws and bulbous snouts with wide nostrils. They have long lower lips which can be stretched over the outer edge of their noses, and they lack upper incisors, thus allowing them to suck up large numbers of insects. The premolars and molars are smaller than in other bears, as they do not chew as much vegetation. In adults, the teeth are usually in poor condition, due to the amount of soil they suck up and chew when feeding on insects.<ref name="brown" /> The back of the [[palate]] is long and broad, as is typical in other ant-eating mammals.<ref name="final" /> The paws are disproportionately large, and have highly developed, sickle-shaped, blunt claws which measure {{cvt|4|in|cm|order=flip}} in length. Their toe pads are connected by a hairless web. They have the longest [[tail]] in the bear family, which can grow to {{cvt|6|-|7|in|cm|order=flip}}.<ref name="brown" /> Their back legs are not very strong, though they are knee-jointed, and allow them to assume almost any position.<ref name="hunt" /> The ears are very large and floppy. The sloth bear is the only bear with long hair on its ears.<ref name="conservation"/>

Sloth bear fur is completely black (rusty for some specimens), save for a whitish Y- or V-shaped mark on the chest.<ref name="brown" /> This feature is sometimes absent, particularly in Sri Lankan specimens.<ref name="final">{{cite book |chapter-url=http://home.comcast.net/~cefprice/slothbear/Products/sloth_bear_final.PDF |chapter=Sloth Bear ''Melursus ursinus'' |title=Mammals of South Asia |editor=Johnsingh, A. J. T. |editor2=Manjrekar, N. |author1=Yoganand, K. |author2=Rice, Clifford G. |author3=Johnsingh, A. J. T. |pages=438–456 |volume=1 |isbn=978-8173715907 |publisher=Universities Press (India) |year=2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127053637/http://home.comcast.net/~cefprice/slothbear/Products/sloth_bear_final.PDF|archive-date=27 January 2007}}</ref> This feature, which is also present in Asian black bears and [[sun bear]]s, is thought to serve as a threat display, as all three species are [[sympatric]] with [[tiger]]s (tigers usually do not carry out attacks on an adult bear if the bear is aware or facing the cat).<ref name="final" /> The coat is long, shaggy, and unkempt, despite the relatively warm environment in which the species is found, and is particularly heavy behind the neck and between the shoulders, forming a mane which can be {{cvt|30|cm}} long.<ref name="final" /><ref name="brown" /> The belly and underlegs can be almost bare. Sloth bears are usually about the same size as an [[Asian black bear]] but are immediately distinctive for their shaggier coat, whitish claws, as well as their typically rangier build. Their head and mouth is highly distinct from that of a black bear with a longer, narrower skull shape (particularly the snout), loose-looking, flappier lips and paler muzzle colour. In few areas of overlap, sloth bear confusion with [[sun bear]]s is unlikely, given the latter species considerably smaller size, much shorter fur, wrinkled folding skin (especially around the back), bolder chest marking and drastically different, more compact head structure and appearance.<ref name= Grzimek/><ref name="mel">[http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/melursus/Melursus_ursinus/Melursus_ursinus.html WildLifeInformation.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108105759/http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/0MCarnivor/ursidae/melursus/Melursus_ursinus/Melursus_ursinus.html |date=8 November 2009}}, ''Melursus ursinus – Sloth bear''</ref>