It's easy being green

I remember hearing that the green color of the sloth's fur comes from algae growing there, but I didn't know this:

The algae in the sloth’s fur provides food for a great many insects... Beetles have been found by the hundreds living on a single sloth. Another insect that calls the sloth home is a type of moth—Bradipodicola hahneli... The sloth’s fur provides both food and protection for the moth. Not only does it feed on the algae, but it also deposits its eggs in the sloth’s droppings, where they pupate and hatch, and then fly off to look for another sloth to live on.

The green color of course improves the sloth's camoflage in the forest, so it is an interesting adaptation. I believe some sloths inhabit deciduous forests and their fur reverts to brown in a seasonal fashion, but I can't at the moment find a link to support that.

Photo credit via.