As their name implies, anteaters are insect-eating animals belonging to the family Myrmecophagidae, which itself is part of the order Edentata (meaning “toothless”). The anteaters live in tropical grasslands and forests from southern Mexico to northern Argentina and Paraguay. They are densely furred, long-tailed animals with long skulls. Their mouth openings are quite small, and their tongues are long and wormlike. Anteaters feed mainly on ants and termites. They use the long, sharp, curved claws on their forefeet to tear open the insects' nests. Then they insert their long, sticky tongues into the nests to get the insects out. The largest of these animals is the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). It grows to about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length and weighs about 55 pounds (25 kilograms). It lives on the ground and feeds during the day. The lesser anteater, (genus Tamandua) and the two-toed, or silky, anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) live primarily in trees and feed during the night. Relatives of the anteater include the aardvark, the sloth, the armadillo, the numbat (or banded anteater), the pangolin (or scaly anteater), and the echidna (or spiny anteater). (See also aardvark; armadillo; sloth.) |