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75-400: A large variety of vertebrates construct or use burrows in many types of substrate; burrows can range widely in complexity. Some examples of vertebrate burrowing animals include a number of mammals , amphibians , fish ( dragonet and lungfish ), reptiles , and birds (including small dinosaurs ). Mammals are perhaps most well known for burrowing. Mammal species such as Insectivora like

150-445: A claw and a hoof. Whereas the aardvark is considered digitigrade , it appears at times to be plantigrade . This confusion happens because when it squats it stands on its soles. A contributing characteristic to the burrow digging capabilities of aardvarks is an endosteal tissue called compacted coarse cancellous bone (CCCB). The stress and strain resistance provided by CCCB allows aardvarks to create their burrows, ultimately leading to

225-493: A gestation period of seven months, one cub weighing around 1.7–1.9 kilograms (3.7–4.2 lb) is born during May–July. When born, the young has flaccid ears and many wrinkles. When nursing, it will nurse off each teat in succession. After two weeks, the folds of skin disappear and after three, the ears can be held upright. After 5–6 weeks, body hair starts growing. It is able to leave the burrow to accompany its mother after only two weeks and eats termites at 9 weeks, and

300-480: A broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair , and three middle ear bones . These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds , from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 orders . The largest orders of mammals, by number of species , are

375-449: A burrow may be kept dry, safe and at a stable temperature. Burrows are also commonly preserved in the fossil record as burrow fossils , a type of trace fossil . Mammals A mammal (from Latin mamma  'breast') is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia ( / m ə ˈ m eɪ l i . ə / ). Mammals are characterized by the presence of milk -producing mammary glands for feeding their young,

450-423: A charm from the heart, skin, forehead, and nails of the aardvark, which they then proceed to pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest, the charm is said to give the owner the ability to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is said to be used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents' permission. Also, some tribes, such as

525-473: A drought. Aardvarks that survive droughts can take long periods of time to regain health and optimal thermoregulatory physiology, reducing the reproductive potential of the species. Aardvarks handle captivity well. The first zoo to have one was London Zoo in 1869, which had an animal from South Africa . In African folklore , the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants . Hausa magicians make

600-433: A favourable environment for plants and a variety of animals. Digging is also facilitated by its forearm's unusually stout ulna and radius. An aardvark's weight is typically between 60 and 80 kilograms (130–180 lb). An aardvark's length is usually between 105 and 130 centimetres (3.44–4.27 ft), and can reach lengths of 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) when its tail (which can be up to 70 centimetres (28 in))

675-597: A long snout, similar to that of a pig, which is used to sniff out food. Aardvarks are the only living species of the order Tubulidentata , although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. They are afrotheres , a clade that also includes elephants , manatees , and hyraxes . They are found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Nocturnal feeders, aardvarks subsist on ants and termites by using their sharp claws and powerful legs to dig

750-442: A means to explore their location. When a concentration of ants or termites is detected, the aardvark digs into it with its powerful front legs, keeping its long ears upright to listen for predators, and takes up an astonishing number of insects with its long, sticky tongue—as many as 50,000 in one night have been recorded. Its claws enable it to dig through the extremely hard crust of a termite or ant mound quickly. It avoids inhaling

825-441: A muscular pyloric area that acts as a gizzard to grind swallowed food up, thereby rendering chewing unnecessary. Its cecum is large. Both sexes emit a strong smelling secretion from an anal gland. Its salivary glands are highly developed and almost completely ring the neck; their output is what causes the tongue to maintain its tackiness. The female has two pairs of teats in the inguinal region. Genetically speaking,

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900-400: A night. Aardvarks shift their circadian rhythms to more diurnal activity patterns in response to a reduced food supply. This survival tactic may signify an increased risk of imminent mortality. The aardvark is a rather quiet animal. However, it does make soft grunting sounds as it forages and loud grunts as it makes for its tunnel entrance. It makes a bleating sound if frightened. When it

975-619: A slight decrease in numbers in eastern, northern, and western Africa. Southern African numbers are not decreasing. It has received an official designation from the IUCN as least concern . However, they are a species in a precarious situation, as they are so dependent on such specific food; therefore if a problem arises with the abundance of termites, the species as a whole would be affected drastically. Recent research suggests that aardvarks may be particularly vulnerable to alterations in temperature caused by climate change. Droughts negatively impact

1050-418: A solitary creature. If attacked in the tunnel, it will escape by digging out of the tunnel thereby placing the fresh fill between it and its predator, or if it decides to fight it will roll onto its back, and attack with its claws. The aardvark has been known to sleep in a recently excavated ant nest, which also serves as protection from its predators . Aardvarks pair only during the breeding season; after

1125-431: Is Afrikaans ( pronounced [ˈɑːrtfark] ) and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark . It means "earth pig " or "ground pig" ( aarde : ' earth ' , vark : ' pig, young pig ' ), because of its burrowing habits. The name Orycteropus means "burrowing foot", and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvark's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style teeth. The aardvark

1200-423: Is nocturnal and is a solitary creature that feeds almost exclusively on ants and termites ( myrmecophagy ); the only fruit eaten by aardvarks is the aardvark cucumber . In fact, the cucumber and the aardvark have a symbiotic relationship as they eat the subterranean fruit, then defecate the seeds near their burrows, which then grow rapidly due to the loose soil and fertile nature of the area. The time spent in

1275-411: Is evidence that rodents may construct the most complex burrows of all vertebrate burrowing species. For example, great gerbils live in family groups in extensive burrows, which can be seen on satellite images. Even the unoccupied burrows can remain visible in the landscape for years. The burrows are distributed regularly, although the occupied burrows appear to be clustered in space. Even Carnivora like

1350-415: Is made up of more turbinate bones than any other mammal, with between 9 and 11, compared to dogs with 4 to 5. With a large quantity of turbinate bones, the aardvark has more space for the moist epithelium , which is the location of the olfactory bulb. The nose contains nine olfactory bulbs , more than any other mammal. Its keen sense of smell is not just from the quantity of bulbs in the nose but also in

1425-506: Is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole extant representative of the obscure mammalian order Tubulidentata , in which it is usually considered to form one variable species of the genus Orycteropus , the sole surviving genus in the family Orycteropodidae . The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater , despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance. The similarities are

1500-572: Is primarily driven by human poaching and habitat destruction , primarily deforestation . Over 70% of mammal species are in the orders Rodentia , Chiroptera , and Eulipotyphla . Mammal classification has been through several revisions since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class, and at present , no classification system is universally accepted. McKenna & Bell (1997) and Wilson & Reeder (2005) provide useful recent compendiums. Simpson (1945) provides systematics of mammal origins and relationships that had been taught universally until

1575-474: Is taken into account. It is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall at the shoulder, and has a girth of about 100 centimetres (3.3 ft). It is the largest member of the proposed clade Afroinsectiphilia . The aardvark is pale yellowish-grey in colour and often stained reddish-brown by soil . The aardvark's coat is thin, and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin. Its hair is short on its head and tail; however its legs tend to have longer hair. The hair on

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1650-426: Is the viviparous placental mammals , so named for the temporary organ ( placenta ) used by offspring to draw nutrition from the mother during gestation . Most mammals are intelligent , with some possessing large brains, self-awareness , and tool use . Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several ways, including the production of ultrasound , scent marking , alarm signals , singing , echolocation ; and, in

1725-404: Is threatened it will make for one of its burrows. If one is not close it will dig a new one rapidly. This new one will be short and require the aardvark to back out when the coast is clear. The aardvark is known to be a good swimmer and has been witnessed successfully swimming in strong currents. It can dig a yard of tunnel in about five minutes, but otherwise moves fairly slowly. When leaving

1800-480: Is usually depicted with the head of an unidentified animal , whose similarity to an aardvark has been noted in scholarship. The titular character and his families from Arthur , an animated television series for children based on a book series and produced by WGBH , shown in more than 180 countries, is an aardvark. In the first book of the series, Arthur's Nose (1976), he has a long, aardvark-like nose, but in later books, his face becomes more rounded. Otis

1875-449: Is vaguely pig-like in appearance. Its body is stout with a prominently arched back and is sparsely covered with coarse hairs. The limbs are of moderate length, with the rear legs being longer than the forelegs. The front feet have lost the pollex (or 'thumb'), resulting in four toes, while the rear feet have all five toes. Each toe bears a large, robust nail which is somewhat flattened and shovel-like, and appears to be intermediate between

1950-669: Is weaned between three months and 16 weeks. At six months of age, it is able to dig its own burrows, but it will often remain with the mother until the next mating season , and is sexually mature from approximately two years of age. Aardvarks were thought to have declining numbers, however, this is possibly because they are not readily seen. There are no definitive counts because of their nocturnal and secretive habits; however, their numbers seem to be stable overall. They are not considered common anywhere in Africa, but due to their large range, they maintain sufficient numbers. There may be

2025-595: The Adelaide pygmy blue-tongue skink ( Tiliqua adelaidensis ) when fighting, as they may fight from inside their burrows. Burrows by birds are usually made in soft soils; some penguins and other pelagic seabirds are noted for such burrows. The Magellanic penguin is an example, constructing burrows along coastal Patagonian regions of Chile and Argentina . Other burrowing birds are puffins , kingfishers , and bee-eaters . Kangaroo mice construct burrows in fine sand. Scabies mites construct their burrows in

2100-473: The Cretaceous . The relationships between these three lineages is contentious, and all three possible hypotheses have been proposed with respect to which group is basal . These hypotheses are Atlantogenata (basal Boreoeutheria), Epitheria (basal Xenarthra) and Exafroplacentalia (basal Afrotheria). Boreoeutheria in turn contains two major lineages— Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria . Estimates for

2175-564: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) completed a five-year Global Mammal Assessment for its IUCN Red List , which counted 5,488 species. According to research published in the Journal of Mammalogy in 2018, the number of recognized mammal species is 6,495, including 96 recently extinct. The word " mammal " is modern, from the scientific name Mammalia coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, derived from

2250-556: The Latin mamma ("teat, pap"). In an influential 1988 paper, Timothy Rowe defined Mammalia phylogenetically as the crown group of mammals, the clade consisting of the most recent common ancestor of living monotremes ( echidnas and platypuses ) and therian mammals ( marsupials and placentals ) and all descendants of that ancestor. Since this ancestor lived in the Jurassic period, Rowe's definition excludes all animals from

2325-519: The Margbetu , Ayanda , and Logo , will use aardvark teeth to make bracelets, which are regarded as good luck charms. The meat, which has a resemblance to pork, is eaten in certain cultures. In the mythology of the Dagbon people of Ghana, the aardvark is believed to possess superpowers. The Dagombas believe this animal can transfigure into and interact with humans. The ancient Egyptian god Set

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2400-606: The biological classification scheme used, are the primates : apes , monkeys , and lemurs ; the Cetartiodactyla : whales and even-toed ungulates ; and the Carnivora which includes cats , dogs , weasels , bears , seals , and allies. According to Mammal Species of the World , 5,416 species were identified in 2006. These were grouped into 1,229  genera , 153  families and 29 orders. In 2008,

2475-406: The dominant terrestrial animal group from 66 million years ago to the present. The basic mammalian body type is quadrupedal , with most mammals using four limbs for terrestrial locomotion ; but in some, the limbs are adapted for life at sea , in the air , in trees or underground . The bipeds have adapted to move using only the two lower limbs, while the rear limbs of cetaceans and

2550-425: The meerkat , and marsupials , such as wombats are burrowers. Wombat burrows are large and some have been mapped using a drone. The largest burrowing animal is probably the polar bear when it makes its maternity den in snow or earth. Lizards are also known to construct and live in burrows, and may exhibit territorial behaviour over the burrows as well. There is also evidence that a burrow provides protection for

2625-461: The mole , and rodents like the gopher , great gerbil and groundhog are often found to form burrows. Some other mammals that are known to burrow are the platypus , pangolin , pygmy rabbit , armadillo , rat and weasel . Some rabbits , members of the family Leporidae , are well-known burrowers. Some species, such as the groundhog, can construct burrows that occupy a full cubic metre, displacing about 300 kilograms (660 lb) of dirt. There

2700-428: The rodents , bats , and Eulipotyphla (including hedgehogs , moles and shrews ). The next three are the primates (including humans , monkeys and lemurs ), the even-toed ungulates (including pigs , camels , and whales ), and the Carnivora (including cats , dogs , and seals ). Mammals are the only living members of Synapsida ; this clade , together with Sauropsida (reptiles and birds), constitutes

2775-439: The sea cows are mere internal vestiges . Mammals range in size from the 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30 metres (98 ft) blue whale —possibly the largest animal to have ever lived. Maximum lifespan varies from two years for the shrew to 211 years for the bowhead whale . All modern mammals give birth to live young, except the five species of monotremes , which lay eggs. The most species-rich group

2850-516: The Aardvark was a puppet character used on Children's BBC programming. An aardvark features as the antagonist in the cartoon The Ant and the Aardvark as well as in the Canadian animated series The Raccoons . The supersonic fighter-bomber F-111/FB-111 was nicknamed the Aardvark because of its long nose resembling the animal. It also had similarities with its nocturnal missions flown at

2925-494: The African wildlife scene. As they are vacated, then they are inhabited by smaller animals like the African wild dog , ant-eating chat , Nycteris thebaica and warthogs . Other animals that use them are hares, mongooses, hyenas, owls, pythons, and lizards. Without these refuges many animals would die during wildfire season. Only mothers and young share burrows; however, the aardvark is known to live in small family groups or as

3000-520: The aardvark appeared in Africa around the end of the Paleocene . The ptolemaiidans , a mysterious clade of mammals with uncertain affinities, may actually be stem-aardvarks, either as a sister clade to Tubulidentata or as a grade leading to true tubulidentates. The first unambiguous tubulidentate was probably Myorycteropus africanus from Kenyan Miocene deposits. The earliest example from

3075-462: The aardvark contains many unique and different features. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Tubulidentata is their teeth . Instead of having a pulp cavity , each tooth has a cluster of thin, hexagonal, upright, parallel tubes of vasodentin (a modified form of dentine ), with individual pulp canals, held together by cementum . The number of columns is dependent on the size of

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3150-417: The aardvark is a living fossil , as its chromosomes are highly conserved, reflecting much of the early eutherian arrangement before the divergence of the major modern taxa . Aardvarks are found in sub-Saharan Africa , where suitable habitat ( savannas , grasslands , woodlands and bushland ) and food (i.e., ants and termites ) is available. They spend the daylight hours in dark burrows to avoid

3225-406: The aardvark is another unique area, as it contains ten nasal conchae , more than any other placental mammal. The sides of the nostrils are thick with hair. The tip of the snout is highly mobile and is moved by modified mimetic muscles . The fleshy dividing tissue between its nostrils probably has sensory functions, but it is uncertain whether they are olfactory or vibratory in nature. Its nose

3300-443: The aardvark will keep its nose to the ground and its ears pointed forward, which indicates that both smell and hearing are involved in the search for food. They zig-zag as they forage and will usually not repeat a route for 5–8 days as they appear to allow time for the termite nests to recover before feeding on it again. During a foraging period, they will stop to dig a V-shaped trench with their forefeet and then sniff it profusely as

3375-417: The animal to keep a good stock of food inside the burrow to avoid extreme weather conditions or seasons where certain food sources may be unavailable. Additionally, burrows can protect animals that have just had their young, providing good conditions and safety for vulnerable newborn animals. Burrows may also provide shelter to animals residing in areas frequently destroyed by fire, as animals deep underground in

3450-466: The animals that originally dig and construct the burrow, and are generally very strong. Some animals considered to be primary excavators are the prairie dog , aardvark and wombat. Pygmy gerbils are an example of secondary modifiers, as they do not build an original burrow, but will live inside a burrow made by other animals and improve or change some aspects of the burrow for their own purpose. The third category, simple occupants, neither build nor modify

3525-481: The availability of termites and ants, which comprise the bulk of an aardvark's diet.  Nocturnal species faced with resource scarcity may increase their diurnal activity to spare the energy costs of staying warm at night, but this comes at the cost of withstanding high temperatures during the day. A study on aardvarks in the Kalahari Desert saw that five out of six aardvarks being studied perished following

3600-582: The burrow at night, they pause at the entrance for about ten minutes, sniffing and listening. After this period of watchfulness, it will bound out and within seconds it will be 10 metres (33 ft) away. It will then pause, prick its ears, twisting its head to listen, then jump and move off to start foraging. Aside from digging out ants and termites, the aardvark also excavates burrows in which to live, which generally fall into one of three categories: burrows made while foraging, refuge and resting location, and permanent homes. Temporary sites are scattered around

3675-498: The burrow but simply live inside or use it for their own purpose. Some species of bird make use of burrows built by tortoises , which is an example of simple occupancy. These animals can also be referred to as commensals. Some species may spend the majority of their days inside a burrow, indicating it must have good conditions and provide some benefit to the animal. Burrows may be used by certain species as protection from harsh conditions, or from predators. Burrows may be found facing

3750-492: The case of humans, complex language . Mammals can organize themselves into fission–fusion societies , harems , and hierarchies —but can also be solitary and territorial . Most mammals are polygynous , but some can be monogamous or polyandrous . Domestication of many types of mammals by humans played a major role in the Neolithic Revolution , and resulted in farming replacing hunting and gathering as

3825-812: The clade originating with the last common ancestor of Sinoconodon and living mammals. The earliest-known synapsid satisfying Kemp's definitions is Tikitherium , dated 225 Ma , so the appearance of mammals in this broader sense can be given this Late Triassic date. However, this animal may have actually evolved during the Neogene. As of the early 21st century, molecular studies based on DNA analysis have suggested new relationships among mammal families. Most of these findings have been independently validated by retrotransposon presence/absence data . Classification systems based on molecular studies reveal three major groups or lineages of placental mammals— Afrotheria , Xenarthra and Boreoeutheria —which diverged in

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3900-444: The closest thing to an official classification of mammals, despite its known issues. Most mammals, including the six most species-rich orders , belong to the placental group. The three largest orders in numbers of species are Rodentia : mice , rats , porcupines , beavers , capybaras , and other gnawing mammals; Chiroptera : bats; and Eulipotyphla : shrews , moles , and solenodons . The next three biggest orders, depending on

3975-815: The coastal areas of Namibia , Ivory Coast , and Ghana . They are not found in Madagascar. Aardvarks live for up to 23 years in captivity . Its keen hearing warns it of predators: lions , leopards , cheetahs, African wild dogs , hyenas , and pythons . Some humans also hunt aardvarks for meat. Aardvarks can dig fast or run in zigzag fashion to elude enemies, but if all else fails, they will strike with their claws, tail and shoulders, sometimes flipping onto their backs lying motionless except to lash out with all four feet. They are capable of causing substantial damage to unprotected areas of an attacker. They will also dig to escape as they can. Sometimes, when pressed, aardvarks can dig extremely quickly. The aardvark

4050-579: The development of the brain, as its olfactory lobe is very developed. The snout resembles an elongated pig snout. The mouth is small and tubular, typical of species that feed on ants and termites . The aardvark has a long, thin, snakelike, protruding tongue (as much as 30 centimetres (12 in) long) and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell . The ears, which are very effective, are disproportionately long, about 20–25 centimetres (7.9–9.8 in) long. The eyes are small for its head, and consist only of rods . The aardvark's stomach has

4125-460: The direction of sunlight or away from the direction of cold wind. This could help with heat retention and insulation, providing protection from temperatures and conditions outside. Insects such as the earwig may construct burrows to live in during winter, and use them for physical protection. Some species will also use burrows to store and protect food. This provides a benefit to the animal as it can keep food away from other competition. It also allows

4200-1472: The divergence times between these three placental groups range from 105 to 120 million years ago, depending on the type of DNA used (such as nuclear or mitochondrial ) and varying interpretations of paleogeographic data. Monotremata Marsupialia Xenarthra Afrotheria Glires Euarchonta [REDACTED] Eulipotyphla Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora [REDACTED] Perissodactyla [REDACTED] Artiodactyla [REDACTED] Monotremata [REDACTED] Paucituberculata [REDACTED] Didelphimorphia [REDACTED] Microbiotheria Notoryctemorphia [REDACTED] Peramelemorphia [REDACTED] Dasyuromorphia [REDACTED] Diprotodontia [REDACTED] Cingulata [REDACTED] Pilosa [REDACTED] Hyracoidea [REDACTED] Sirenia [REDACTED] Proboscidea [REDACTED] Tubulidentata [REDACTED] Macroscelidea [REDACTED] Afrosoricida [REDACTED] Eulipotyphla [REDACTED] Chiroptera [REDACTED] Pholidota [REDACTED] Carnivora [REDACTED] Perissodactyla [REDACTED] Artiodactyla [REDACTED] Scandentia [REDACTED] Lagomorpha [REDACTED] Aardvark See text Aardvarks ( / ˈ ɑːr d v ɑːr k / ARD -vark ; Orycteropus afer ) are medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammals native to Africa. They have

4275-432: The dust by sealing the nostrils. When successful, the aardvark's long (up to 30 centimetres (12 in)) tongue licks up the insects; the termites' biting, or the ants' stinging attacks are rendered futile by the tough skin. After an aardvark visit at a termite mound, other animals will visit to pick up all the leftovers. Termite mounds alone do not provide enough food for the aardvark, so they look for termites that are on

4350-585: The earlier Triassic , despite the fact that Triassic fossils in the Haramiyida have been referred to the Mammalia since the mid-19th century. If Mammalia is considered as the crown group, its origin can be roughly dated as the first known appearance of animals more closely related to some extant mammals than to others. Ambondro is more closely related to monotremes than to therian mammals while Amphilestes and Amphitherium are more closely related to

4425-451: The end of the 20th century. However, since 1945, a large amount of new and more detailed information has gradually been found: The paleontological record has been recalibrated, and the intervening years have seen much debate and progress concerning the theoretical underpinnings of systematization itself, partly through the new concept of cladistics . Though fieldwork and lab work progressively outdated Simpson's classification, it remains

4500-422: The first portion of night (roughly the four hours between 8:00   p.m. and 12:00   a.m.); however, they do not seem to prefer bright or dark nights over the other. During adverse weather or if disturbed they will retreat to their burrow systems. They cover between 2 and 5 kilometres (1.2 and 3.1 mi) per night; however, some studies have shown that they may traverse as far as 30 kilometres (19 mi) in

4575-566: The genus Orycteropus was Orycteropus mauritanicus , found in Algeria in deposits from the middle Miocene, with an equally old version found in Kenya. Fossils from the aardvark have been dated to 5 million years, and have been located throughout Europe and the Near East . The mysterious Pleistocene Plesiorycteropus from Madagascar was originally thought to be a tubulidentate that

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4650-467: The heat of the day. The only major habitat that they are not present in is swamp forest, as the high water table precludes digging to a sufficient depth. They also avoid terrain rocky enough to cause problems with digging. They have been documented as high as 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in Ethiopia. They are present throughout sub-Saharan Africa all the way to South Africa with few exceptions including

4725-408: The home range and are used as refuges, while the main burrow is also used for breeding. Main burrows can be deep and extensive, have several entrances and can be as long as 13 metres (43 ft). These burrows can be large enough for a person to enter. The aardvark changes the layout of its home burrow regularly, and periodically moves on and makes a new one. The old burrows are an important part of

4800-524: The insects out of their hills. Aardvarks also dig to create burrows in which to live and rear their young. Aardvarks are listed as "least concern" by the IUCN , although their numbers are decreasing. The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters ), or the "Cape anteater" after the Cape of Good Hope . The name "aardvark"

4875-468: The intestine of the aardvark helps the fertility of the seed, and the fruit provides needed moisture for the aardvark. They avoid eating the African driver ant and red ants. Due to their stringent diet requirements, they require a large range to survive. An aardvark emerges from its burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset, and forages over a considerable home range encompassing 10 to 30 kilometres (6.2 to 18.6 mi). While foraging for food,

4950-668: The larger Amniota clade. Early synapsids are referred to as " pelycosaurs ." The more advanced therapsids became dominant during the Guadalupian . Mammals originated from cynodonts , an advanced group of therapsids, during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic . Mammals achieved their modern diversity in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs , and have been

5025-401: The majority of its body is grouped in clusters of 3–4 hairs. The hair surrounding its nostrils is dense to help filter particulate matter out as it digs. Its tail is very thick at the base and gradually tapers. The greatly elongated head is set on a short, thick neck, and the end of the snout bears a disc, which houses the nostrils. It contains a thin but complete zygomatic arch . The head of

5100-493: The move. When these insects move, they can form columns 10–40 metres (33–131 ft) long and these tend to provide easy pickings with little effort exerted by the aardvark. These columns are more common in areas of livestock or other hoofed animals. The trampled grass and dung attract termites from the Odontotermes , Microtermes , and Pseudacanthotermes genera. On a nightly basis they tend to be more active during

5175-530: The organism. Actively filled burrows, on the other hand, are filled with material by the burrowing organism itself. The establishment of an invertebrate burrow often involves the soaking of surrounding sediment in mucus to prevent collapse and to seal off water flow. Examples of burrowing invertebrates are insects , spiders , sea urchins , crustaceans , clams and worms . Burrowing animals can be divided into three categories: primary excavators, secondary modifiers and simple occupants. Primary excavators are

5250-433: The outcome of convergent evolution . The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews , tenrecidae , and golden moles . Along with sirenians , hyraxes , elephants , and their extinct relatives, these animals form the superorder Afrotheria . Studies of the brain have shown the similarities with Condylarthra . Based on his study of fossils, Bryan Patterson has concluded that early relatives of

5325-716: The primary source of food for humans. This led to a major restructuring of human societies from nomadic to sedentary, with more co-operation among larger and larger groups, and ultimately the development of the first civilizations . Domesticated mammals provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as food ( meat and dairy products ), fur , and leather . Mammals are also hunted and raced for sport, kept as pets and working animals of various types, and are used as model organisms in science. Mammals have been depicted in art since Paleolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Decline in numbers and extinction of many mammals

5400-404: The skin of the infested animal or human. Termites and some wasps construct burrows in the soil and wood. Ants construct burrows in the soil. Some sea urchins and clams can burrow into rock. The burrows produced by invertebrate animals can be filled actively or passively. Dwelling burrows which remain open during the occupation by an organism are filled passively, by gravity rather than by

5475-548: The therians; as fossils of all three genera are dated about 167 million years ago in the Middle Jurassic , this is a reasonable estimate for the appearance of the crown group. T. S. Kemp has provided a more traditional definition: " Synapsids that possess a dentary – squamosal jaw articulation and occlusion between upper and lower molars with a transverse component to the movement" or, equivalently in Kemp's view,

5550-524: The tooth, with the largest having about 1,500. The teeth have no enamel coating and are worn away and regrow continuously. The aardvark is born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw, which fall out and are not replaced. Adult aardvarks have only cheek teeth at the back of the jaw , and have a dental formula of: 0.0.2-3.3 0.0.2.3 These remaining teeth are peg-like and rootless and are of unique composition. The teeth consist of 14 upper and 12 lower jaw molars. The nasal area of

5625-599: Was descended from ancestors that entered the island during the Eocene . However, a number of subtle anatomical differences coupled with recent molecular evidence now lead researchers to believe that Plesiorycteropus is a relative of golden moles and tenrecs that achieved an aardvark-like appearance and ecological niche through convergent evolution. The aardvark has seventeen poorly defined subspecies listed: The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica also mentions O. a. capensis or Cape ant-bear from South Africa. The aardvark

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