Anteater

(Redirected from Myrmecophagidae)

An anteater is a mammal of the family Myrmecophagidae and the suborder Vermilingua. Anteaters live in South America and Central America.

Anteater
Temporal range: Early Miocene-present
Myresluger2.jpg
Giant anteater
Scientific classification e
Unrecognized taxon (fix): Vermilingua
Families

Cyclopedidae
Myrmecophagidae

Anteaters eat ants and termites. They have long, sharp claws and a long, sticky tongue. The tongue can be up to 60 cm long, as long as a person's arm. The anteater opens an ant nest with its claws. Then it licks up the ants with its tongue.

Large anteaters that move on the ground knuckle-walk, bending their front toes under when they move the way gorillas do. Small anteaters that live in trees do not do this.[1]

Gallery

Anteater Media

References

  1. Caley M Orr (2005). "Knuckle-walking Anteater: A Convergence Test of Adaptation for Purported Knuckle-Walking Features of African Hominidae". Am J Phys Anthropol. 128 (3): 639–58. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20192. PMID 15861420. Retrieved July 8, 2020.