The order Pilosa /paɪˈloʊsə/ is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas.

[2] The biogeographic origins of the Pilosa are still unclear,[3] but they can be traced back in South America as far as the early Paleogene (about 60 million years ago, only a short time after the end of the Mesozoic Era).

A number of sloths were also formerly present on the Antilles, which they reached from South America by some combination of rafting or floating with the prevailing currents.

Together with the armadillos, which are in the order Cingulata, pilosans are part of the larger superorder Xenarthra, a defining characteristic of which is the presence of xenarthrals (extra formations between lumbar vertebrae).

Order Pilosa Major families within Pilosa[4] Cyclopedidae Myrmecophagidae † Megalocnidae † Scelidotheriidae Choloepodidae † Mylodontidae † Megalonychidae Bradypodidae † Nothrotheriidae † Megatheriidae Cladogram of living Pilosa[4][5][6] C. rufus C. thomasi C. ida C. xinguensis C. didactylus C. dorsalis M. tridactyla T. mexicana T. tetradactyla C. didactylus C. hoffmanni B. torquatus B. pygmaeus B. tridactylus B. variegatus