| Giant Anteater | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Range | South America |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Pilosa |
| Family | |
| Genus | Myrmecophaga |
| Species | M. tridactyla |
| Conservation Status | |
 Vulnerable | |
The Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is an insectivorous mammal indigenous to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, and the largest. It is the only extant member of the Myrmecophaga genus and belongs to the Pilosa order, alongside sloths. This species is primarily terrestrial, as opposed to other surviving anteaters and sloths, which are arboreal or semi-arboreal. The gigantic anteater measures 182 to 217 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in to 7 ft 1+1⁄2 in) in length and weighs 33 to 50 kg (73 to 110 lb) for males and 27 to 47 kg (60 to 104 lb) for females. It is distinguished by its large snout, bushy tail, long fore claws, and strikingly colored pelage.
The giant anteater is found in a variety of environments, including grassland and rainforest. It forages in open regions and rests in densely forested environments. Its primary food source is ants and termites, which it digs up with its fore claws and collects with its long, sticky tongue. Though giant anteaters have overlapping home ranges, they are primarily solitary except during mother-offspring connections, violent confrontations between males, and mating. Mother anteaters carry their offspring on their backs until they are weaned.
The giant anteater is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is no longer found in many of its former habitats. Anteaters face threats to their survival like as habitat degradation, fire, and poaching for fur and bushmeat, though some live in protected areas. The anteater, with its peculiar look and behaviors, has appeared in both pre-Columbian mythologies and folktales, as well as current popular culture.
Taxonomy and phylogeny[]
Carl Linnaeus gave the giant anteater its binomial name in 1758. Myrmecophaga is the generic name, and tridactyla is the specific name, both of which mean "anteater" and "three fingers" in Greek. Myrmecophaga jubata served as a synonym. Three subspecies have been proposed: M. tridactyla (Venezuela and the Guianas south to northern Argentina), M. centralis (Central America to northwestern Colombia and northern Ecuador), and M. artata (northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela). The gigantic anteater belongs to the Myrmecophagidae family, which also includes the semiarboreal northern and southern tamanduas. The two families form the suborder Vermilingua, which also includes the family Cyclopedidae, whose only extant member is the arboreal silky anteater.
Anteaters and sloths belong to the Pilosa order, which shares the superorder Xenarthra with the Cingulata (whose sole living members are armadillos). The two orders of Xenarthra split 66 million years ago (Mya) during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Anteaters and sloths separated approximately 55 million years ago, between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. The lineages of Cyclopes and other extant anteaters diverged roughly 40 million years ago in the Oligocene era, while the last common ancestor of Myrmecophaga and Tamandua lived 10 million years ago in the Late Miocene. Anteaters spent most of their evolutionary history limited to South America, which was once an island continent.
Description[]
Distribution and status[]
Behavior and ecology[]
