The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is the largest of the four living species of anteaters, which are classified with sloths in the order Pilosa. The only extant member of the genus Myrmecophaga, the giant anteater is mostly terrestrial, in contrast to other living anteaters and sloths, which are arboreal or semiarboreal. It is recognizable by its elongated snout, bushy tail, long foreclaws, and distinctively colored fur. The giant anteater is found in multiple habitats, including grassland and rainforest. It forages in open areas and rests in more forested habitats. It feeds primarily on ants and termites, using its foreclaws to dig them up and its long, sticky tongue to collect them. Though giant anteaters live in overlapping home ranges, they are mostly solitary except during mother-offspring relationships, aggressive interactions between males, and when mating. Mother anteaters carry their offspring on their backs until weaning them. The giant anteater is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Threats to its survival include habitat destruction, fire, and poaching for fur and bushmeat, although some anteaters inhabit protected areas. With its distinctive appearance and habits, the anteater has been featured in pre-Columbian cultural narratives.
Taxonomy The giant anteater got its binomial name from Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Its generic name, Myrmecophaga, and specific name, tridactyla, are both Greek, meaning "anteater" and "three fingers", respectively. Myrmecophaga jubata was used as a synonym. Three subspecies have been suggested: M. t. tridactyla (Venezuela and the Guianas south to northern Argentina), M. t. centralis (Central America to northwestern Colombia and northern Ecuador), and M. t. artata (northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela). The giant anteater is grouped with the semiarboreal northern and southern tamanduas in the family Myrmecophagidae. Together with the family Cyclopedidae, whose only extant member is the arboreal silky anteater, the two families comprise the suborder Vermilingua. Anteaters and sloths belong to the order Pilosa and share the superorder Xenarthra with the Cingulata (whose only extant members are armadillos). The two orders of Xenarthra split 65 million years ago (Mya) during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Anteaters and sloths diverged around 58 Mya, during the Paleocene epoch. The lineages of Cyclopes and other extant anteaters split around 40 Mya in the Eocene epoch, while the last common ancestor of Myrmecophaga and Tamandua existed circa 13 Mya in the Miocene epoch. Through most of their evolutionary history, anteaters were confined to South America, which was formerly an island continent. Following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 Mya, anteaters of all three extant genera invaded Central America as part of the Great American Interchange. The following cladogram is based on a genetic study by Delsuc and colleagues (2012).
The fossil record for anteaters is generally sparse. Known fossils include the Pliocene genus Palaeomyrmidon, a close relative to the silky anteater, Protamandua, which is closer to the giant anteater and the tamanduas from the Miocene, and Neotamandua, which is believed to have close affinities to Myrmecophaga. Protamandua was larger than the silky anteater but smaller than a tamandua, while Neotamandua was larger, falling somewhere between a tamandua and a giant anteater. Protamandua did not appear to be specialized for walking or climbing, but it may have had a prehensile tail. Neotamandua, though, is unlikely to have had a prehensile tail, and its feet were similar in form to both the tamanduas and the giant anteater. The species Neotamandua borealis was suggested to be an ancestor of the latter. Another member of the genus Myrmecophaga has been recovered from the Montehermosan Monte Hermoso Formation in Argentina and was described by Kraglievitch in 1934 as Nunezia caroloameghinoi. The species was reclassified as Myrmecophaga caroloameghinoi by S. E. Hirschfeld in 1976. The giant anteater is the most terrestrial of the living anteater species; specialization for life on the ground appears to be a new trait in anteater evolution. The transition to life on the ground could have been aided by the expansion of open habitats such as savanna in South America and the abundance of native colonial insects, such as termites, that provided a larger potential food source. Both the giant anteater and the southern tamandua are well represented in the fossil record of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene.
Characteristics
The giant anteater can be identified by its large size, long, narrow muzzle, and long, bushy tail. It has a total body length of 182 to 217 cm (72 to 85 in). Males weigh 33 to 50 kg (73 to 110 lb), and females weigh 27 to 47 kg (60 to 104 lb), making the giant anteater the biggest extant species in its suborder. The head of the giant anteater, at 30 cm (12 in) long, is particularly elongated, even when compared to other anteaters. Its cylindrical snout takes up most of its head. Its eyes, ears, and mouth are relatively small. It has poor eyesight but has a powerful sense of smell, 40 times that of a human. While there is some difference in size and shape between the sexes, males being larger and more robust, telling them apart from a distance can be difficult. The male's genitals are located within its body, and its urogenital opening is smaller and farther from the anus than the female's. The female's two mammary glands are located between the front legs.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
