Page 152 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

152 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

found in huge numbers. No wonder then, that so many
Southern tamandua habitats
animals take advantage of such a plentiful and nutritious
food source.
There are four mammal species belonging to the
suborder Vermilingua which eat ants and termites – the
giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), the silky anteater
(Cyclopes didactylus), the southern tamandua (known as
the collared anteater) and the northern tamandua
(Tamandua mexicana). The name anteater is also applied to
aardvarks and pangolins, which are found in Africa and
Asia, although they are not related to their South
American counterparts.
Formicivorous mammals (those which feed mainly on
ants) come in all shapes and sizes, but they share two vital
adaptations to help them eat such small, speedy prey –
powerful claws and a long, sticky tongue.
As their scientific name tells us (tetradactyla comes from
the Greek for ‘four-fingered’), tamanduas have four, clawed
digits on their fore feet and five on their hind feet. It’s
their anterior (front) feet that they use to break open
insect nests.Then, the tamanduas’ tongue takes over. It is
There are currently more than 12,000 known species of 40cm (15.7in) long, and the animals’ enlarged salivary
ant.These industrious insects can be found on every gland covers this tongue with sticky saliva, so all they have
continent except Antarctica and almost every country has to do to enjoy a hearty feed is to lap the ants up.
its own, native species.Ants are equally at home in
rainforests and deserts, and an average ant colony may At home and abroad
contain several million individuals.Termites, too, are an Tamanduas are arboreal, spending much of their time
amazingly widespread group.About 2750 species have foraging for food amongst the tree canopy. Between 13
been identified and, although they are never found more and 64 per cent of their day is spent in the tree tops and,
then 50˚ to the north or south of the Equator, they are for moving around in such a tricky environment, their

Comparisons

Tamanduas may enjoy a similar diet to the African aardvark, but their
habitats couldn’t be more different.These South American, furry ‘ant-
eaters’ can be found in variety of environments, from tropical rainforest
to savannah, but they spend most of their time in the trees.Africa’s
termite-munching aardvarks (Orycterapus afer) also enjoy a range of
habitats but spend much of their day in underground burrows.

African aardvark Southern tamandua

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.