Anteater (disambiguation)
Encyclopedia
"Anteater
" properly refers to the four species of the suborder Vermilingua native to Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America.
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:
Anteater
Anteaters, also known as antbear, are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa...
" properly refers to the four species of the suborder Vermilingua native to Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America.
Anteater can also refer to any of several unrelated species which have independently and convergently
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
adapted to fill the same niche of eating ants or termites:
- AardvarkAardvarkThe aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...
(Cape anteater), a medium-sized mammal native to Africa - EchidnaEchidnaEchidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
(spiny anteater), a family of monotremes native to New Guinea and Australia - NumbatNumbatThe numbat , also known as the banded anteater, or walpurti, is a marsupial found in Western Australia. Its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. Once widespread across southern Australia, the range is now restricted to several small colonies and it is listed as an endangered species...
(formerly Banded Anteater), a small marsupial endemic to western Australia - PangolinPangolinA pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
(scaly anteater), mammals found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia
See also
- AnteAter is an electronica binky boo side-project of ¡Forward, Russia!¡Forward, Russia!¡Forward, Russia! were an English alternative band from Leeds, formed in early 2004, though are currently on hiatus. Until 2006, the band only named tracks with numbers, in the order that they were written...
singer Tom Woodhead - Ant-eater, B.C. (comic strip)B.C. (comic strip)B.C. is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Johnny Hart. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras...
character - Anteater (video game), a maze arcade game
- Anteater, name of the UCI mascot
- Kenworth T600Kenworth T600The Kenworth T600 was an aerodynamic semi truck.The T600 was a radical shift in truck design compared to its cousin the W900...
, semi-trailer truck with a sleek design that gives it this nickname.