Aardvarks
| Aardvark Temporal range: Early Pliocene – Recent |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Tubulidentata |
| Family: | Orycteropodidae |
| Genus: | Orycteropus |
| Species: | O. afer |
| Binomial name | |
|
Orycteropus afer (Pallas, 1766) |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
See text |
|
 |
|
| Aardvark range | |
See text
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: [ˈɑːrtfark]) 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.
...
Wikipedia