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Aardvark

Aardvark
Temporal range: Early Pliocene – Recent
Porc formiguer.JPG
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Tubulidentata
Family: Orycteropodidae
Genus: Orycteropus
Species: O. afer
Binomial name
Orycteropus afer
(Pallas, 1766)
Subspecies

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Aardvark area.png
Aardvark range

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The aardvark (/ˈɑːrd.vɑːrk/ ARD-vark; Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also digs to create burrows in which to live and rear its young. It receives a "least concern" rating from the IUCN, although its numbers seem to be decreasing.

The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteater), or the "Cape anteater" after the Cape of Good Hope. The name "aardvark" (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈɑːrtfɐrk]) comes from earlier Afrikaans (erdvark) and means "earth pig" or "ground pig" (aarde: earth/ground, vark: pig), because of its burrowing habits (similar origin to the name groundhog). The name Orycteropus means burrowing foot, and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvarks's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style teeth.


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Wikipedia

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