Xenarthra (Anteaters, Armadillos, Sloths)

The superorder Xenarthra contains 38 extant species of sloths (order Pilosa, suborder Folivora), anteaters (order Pilosa, suborder Vermilingua), and armadillos (order Cingulata), which occupy varied habitats ranging from South America to the Southern United States. Radiographic technique and positioning under anesthesia are routine for anteaters and sloths. Anteaters possess a long skull with a slender maxilla and mandible, enabling them to acquire their primary food sources. External lung lobation is less prominent in xenarthrans than dogs and cats, and their fissure lines are less prominent or absent. In a study describing the normal US abdominal findings in giant anteaters, the liver, gallbladder, spleen, stomach, kidneys, urinary bladder, and testes were visualized in all the exams. Male xenarthrans possess intra-abdominal testes and lack a pampiniform plexus. In anteaters, the testes sit adjacent to the midline, caudal, and medial to the kidneys.