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Tubulidentata - Tube Toothed Mammals
CLASSIFYING THE MAMMALS: Taxonomy is the scientific method of classifying the animals with specific names. Learn more about taxonomy and the grouping of the mammals on the Taxonomy Page and Mammal Chart.
THE ORDER TUBULIDENTATA:
Perhaps we think of the aardvark only as being the first word in the dictionary, but it is so extraordinary among mammals that it is placed in an order all by itself. Although it eats ants and termites, the aardvark is not closely related to the anteaters, but this is just another example of convergence of two different types of animals adapting to the same habitat.
The aardvark is a homely beast that looks something like a long-nosed, rabbit-eared pig. Its name means "earth-pig" in Afrikaans. It is found in Africa in areas where its main diet - ants and termites - are in abundant supply. It also indulges in locusts or grasshoppers occasionally. But it is well adapted to a specialized diet of ants and termites, because it has strong limbs and heavy claws which easily dig into termite mounds. To give you and idea of the strength of its forelimbs and claws, a human would have to wield an axe to break into the concrete-like termite mounds in Africa. Also it has a long sticky tongue, thick skin, and an acute sense of smell. Incisor and canine teeth are absent, but the aardvark has on each side of its mouth five upper and four lower cheek teeth which are peculiarly tubular in structure. It is from this feature that the name of the order is derived - Tubulidentata.
The aardvark has few predators because it can fight fiercely with the claws of its forefeet, and its skin is quite thick. Hyenas are occasionally hungry enough to try, but only the young, the old and the sick are easy prey for the other carnivores. However, its habitat is shrinking with the encroachment of human civilization, and although it is not yet endangered, there are legal sanctions against trading in their products.
Skeletal evidence suggests that the aardvark descended from primitive ungulates, the hoofed animals, such as deer and zebras, breaking away about 65,000,000 years ago during the Paleocene. There is so much about the aardvark that is unique, that they are referred to by some scientists as "living fossils."
Check out the Aardvark.
Or check out the other Anteaters in the index.
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