Anteater (disambiguation)

"Anteater" properly refers to the four species of the suborder Vermilingua native to Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America. This includes two species of Tamandua (Silky Anteaters) and the Giant Anteater.

Anteater can also refer to any of several unrelated species which have independently and convergently adapted to fill the same niche of eating ants or termites:

  • Aardvark (Cape anteater), a medium-sized placental mammal native to Africa
  • Echidna (spiny anteater), a family of monotremes native to New Guinea and Australia
  • Numbat (formerly Banded Anteater), a small marsupial endemic to western Australia
  • Pangolin (scaly anteater), placental mammals found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia

Other uses edit