 Anteater Name applied to various animals which feed on ants, termites, and other insects, but more properly restricted to a completely toothless group of the order Enentata. There are three genera, all found in tropical Central and Southern America .
The great anteater or ant bear has an elongated, almost cylindrical head and snout, a sticky tongue about 12 in. long, a course haired body about 4 ft. long, broad tail. The large, sharp claws on the forefeet are weapons of defense and are used to open the hard earth mounds of termites . The Collared or lesser anteater, less than half the size of the great anteater, is a short haired yellowish and black aboreal creature . The aboreal two toed anteater is the size of squirrel and has a prehensile tail and silky yellow fur . The banded anteater of Australia, is related to the platypus . |
