Aardvark and anteater are two mammals that are often confused by people. They belong to different species. Anteater is a solitary animal and is also known as anthill bear. Aardvarks are mammals found in Africa and they sleep during the day but are active at night.
So, what is the difference between aardvark and anteater? Aardvark has teeth while anteater does not have teeth.
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Comparison Table (Aardvark vs Anteater)
| Characteristics | Aardvark | Anteater |
| Classification | It belongs to the order Tubulidentata, which includes only this species. | It belongs to order Pilosa and includes three species. |
| Bodyweight | They weigh up to 60kg. | They weigh up to 40kg. |
| Location | They are found in Africa. | They are found in South America. |
| Habitat | They live in burrows. | They are entirely terrestrial animals. |
| Activity | They are nocturnal. | They are either diurnal or nocturnal. |
| Teeth | They have teeth. | They do not have teeth. |
| Tail | They have muscular tails with no hair. | They have bushy tails. |
| Lifespan | In captivity, they live up to 25 years, in the wilderness, it is not known. | In captivity, they live up to 25 years, in the wilderness, they live between 13 to 15 years. |
What is an Aardvark?
Aardvark is a mammal found in Africa. It is a nocturnal animal in that it sleeps during the day and becomes active at night. When the nights are very cold, sometimes they may come out during the day to bask in the sun.
They have a heavy body with short thick legs, a long head, and a long snout. These features make this animal unique from the rest. The tip of the snout is blunt and has two nostrils. Their ears are long and tubular in shape. The tail is long, muscular, and has no hairs.
They are adapted to feed on ants and termites therefore they are referred to as pure anteaters. Their eyes are smaller with poor eyesight. Their hearing sense is very powerful. It has a long, sticky tongue that is used to collect termites. During the day they stay in burrows.
What is an Anteater?
Anteater is a mammal found in South America. It is a solitary animal and is also referred to as an anthill bear. Sometimes giant anteaters are mistaken for bears because of their claws and bushy fur. They are well distinguished from other mammals by their elongated skulls with a long rostrum.
They have small mouths with long sticky tongues that enable them to catch termites. They do not have teeth hence they are referred to as edentate mammals. The tongue has viscous secretion produced by submaxillary glands and has barb-like spins on it hence easy to trap ants and termites.
They have coarse gray hair and bushy tails. They live on land and they can either be nocturnal or diurnal. They have long powerful claws used for foraging. They are endangered species due to habitat loss, hunting, and illegal trade.
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Main Differences between Aardvark and Anteater
Similarities between Aardvark and Anteater
In Conclusion
Both aardvark and anteaters are mammals but belong to different species. The aardvark has teeth that are not found in anteaters. Aardvarks are mostly active during the night while anteaters can either be active during the day or the night. The main feature that makes aardvark different from anteater is the presence of teeth in aardvarks.
More sources and references:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Irvine
- https://www.wits.ac.za/wits-life-sciences-museum/aardvark-skull/
- https://www.britannica.com/animal/anteater
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