Hands Down Animals · Printable fact sheet
Anteater
Myrmecophagidae
Quick facts
| Scientific name | Myrmecophagidae |
|---|---|
| Size | Silky anteater: 35cm–45cm; Tamanduas: 53cm–88cm; Giant anteater: up to 2.1m… |
| Weight | Silky anteater: 0.4 kg; Tamanduas: 3.5–8.4 kg; Giant anteater: 18–65 kg |
| Lifespan | Average 14 years in wild (up to 25 in captivity) |
| Diet | Primarily ants and termites, occasionally other insects and small invertebrates. |
| Habitat | Tropical rainforests, Dry savannas, Wetlands |
| Where it lives | Amazon Rainforest, Pantanal, Gran Chaco, Guianas |
| IUCN status | Vulnerable (giant anteater); Least Concern (tamanduas and silky anteater) |
| Population | Unknown (all species combined), Giant Anteater… |
| Top speed | 48 km/h |
| Family | Myrmecophagidae |
About the anteater
The giant anteater lives in the grasslands and forests of Central and South America and eats up to 30,000 ants and termites a day, ripping nests open with its claws and flicking a tongue up to 60 centimetres long in and out around 150 times a minute. It has no teeth, walks on its knuckles to keep the claws sharp, and can fend off a jaguar. The three smaller species, two tamanduas and the silky anteater, climb trees. The giant anteater is listed as Vulnerable.
Five things to know
- Anteaters lack teeth entirely and instead use an extremely long, sticky tongue to gather insects.
- Their long claws are used to tear open termite mounds and ant nests.
- The giant anteater can eat up to 30,000 ants or termites in one day.
- Silky anteaters are so small and elusive they are rarely seen by humans.
- Tamanduas are sometimes called 'stinkers of the forest' due to their strong scent glands.
Homeschool unit: Animals homeschool guide — Habitats, adaptations and food chains as a graded unit, with the anteater as one of its worked examples.