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The order Xenarthra or Edentata is a group of placental mammals, extant today only in the Americas.

It includes the following families:

• Myrmecophagidae (anteater)
• Megalonychidae (two toed sloth)
• Bradypodidae (three toed sloth)
• Dasypodidae (armadillo)

The order was originally called Edentata, meaning toothless, because the members do not have front incisor teeth or molars, or have poorly-developed molars. It is now called Xenarthra, meaning strange joints, because their vertebral joints are unlike those of all other mammals.

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