Looks can be deceiving: Its name is a hint to one of its favorite foods, and you can't miss its long snout, but there's more to the story of the giant anteater! This unique animal is the largest of the four anteater species the others are the silky anteater, the northern tamandua, and the southern tamandua.
The giant anteater is about the size of a golden retriever, but thick, bushy hair makes it look even bigger. The anteater's gray hair feels like straw and grows especially long on the tail up to 16 inches or 40 centimeters , and it sports a stylish stripe of black that stretches from under the nose to the middle of the back. This stripe is outlined in white, tan, or gray and goes down to a black ring around the base of the front feet. The hairy, bushy tail is often used as a blanket or sunshade.
Giant anteaters walk with a slow shuffle on all four legs with their nose pointed to the ground. Anteaters are also good swimmers, using the freestyle stroke and with their long snout as a snorkel. Can you imagine eating nothing but ants all day long? Giant anteaters have no teeth, but a specialized tongue allows them to eat up to 30, ants and termites each day. Giant anteaters range from Honduras in Central America to the Gran Chaco region of Bolivia in South America, and are found in tropical and dry forests, savannas, and grasslands.
These animals are perfectly designed to feed on ants, which is great, because ants are a very reliable food source. The anteater's narrow tongue is about 2 feet 60 centimeters long and is shaped like a strand of spaghetti. This amazing tongue has teeny, backward-pointing spines covered in sticky saliva that aid in feeding. Relying on its acute sense of smell, the giant anteater detects an ant mound and swiftly rips into it with its sharp, formidable claws.
It then darts its tongue inside up to times per minute! The anteater only feeds at one mound for about a minute before moving on. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome. Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available.
Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands. Rain Forest Conservation Fund. Anderson, S. Recent Mammals of the World. Jones, M. Longevity of captive mammals. Garten , Naples, V. Morphology, evolution, and function of feeding in the giant anteater.
Journal of Zoology-London , Nowak, R. Walker's Mammals of the World, Volume I. Redford, K. Mammals of the Neotropics. Shaw, , Machado-Neto, Carter. Behavior of free-living giant anteaters. Biotropica , 19 3 : To cite this page: Woltanski, A. Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe.
Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
Myrmecophaga tridactyla giant anteater Facebook. Redford and Eisenberg, Biogeographic Regions neotropical Habitat Giant anteaters use a variety of habitats, including swamp, forests, and grasslands. Jones, Gestation is approximately days, after which females give birth to a single young which weighs about 1.
Breeding season Giant anteaters may breed year round, or seasonally depending on region. Average number of offspring 1 Average number of offspring 1 AnAge Average gestation period days Average gestation period days AnAge Average weaning age 6 months Average time to independence 24 months Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity female 2. Jones, Range lifespan Status: captivity 25 high years Average lifespan Status: captivity Redford and Eisenberg, ; Nowak, Communication and Perception Most communication occurs between young and their mothers or during fighting.
Naples, Primary Diet carnivore insectivore Animal Foods insects Plant Foods fruit Predation Giant anteaters can use their immense front claws to defend themselves from predators, though their typical response to threat is to run away. Nowak, Known Predators Jaguars Panthera onca mountain lions Puma concolor Ecosystem Roles Giant anteaters, through their diet, have an enormous impact on local insect communities.
Nowak, Economic Importance for Humans: Positive Giant anteaters are hunted for food, fur, and sport. Glossary Neotropical living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
Read more Classification Kingdom Animalia animals Animalia: information 1 Animalia: pictures Animalia: specimens Animalia: sounds Animalia: maps Chordata: information 1 Chordata: pictures Chordata: specimens Chordata: sounds Vertebrata: information 1 Vertebrata: pictures Vertebrata: specimens Vertebrata: sounds Mammalia: information 1 Mammalia: pictures Mammalia: specimens Mammalia: sounds Size relative to a 6-ft man:.
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