Giant anteater

Myrmecophaga tridactyla · The giant anteater is a large, insect-eating mammal with a long snout and bushy tail, native to Central and South America.

Also called Ant bear.

Giant anteater
Photo: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0
Giant anteater
Photo: dany13, CC BY 2.0
Giant anteater
Photo: Nortondefeis, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderPilosa
FamilyMyrmecophagidae
GenusMyrmecophaga
SpeciesMyrmecophaga tridactyla

Where it lives

Savannas and forests from Honduras to northern Argentina.

Fun facts

  • A giant anteater can eat around 35,000 insects in a single day.
  • The giant anteater's tongue can flick in and out around 160 times per minute.
  • A giant anteater's sense of smell is 40 times stronger than a human's, which helps make up for its poor eyesight.
  • Giant anteaters walk on their front knuckles, like gorillas and chimpanzees, so their long claws don't scrape the ground.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).