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Myrmecophagoidea

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | 700+ words | Copyright

Myrmecophagoidea (ant-eaters; suborder Xenarthra, infra-order Pilosa) A superfamily that comprises the one family Myrmecophagidae, in which the snout is elongated, the extent of the elongation depending on the overall body size of the animal, so that it is Myrmecophaga (giant ant-eater) that possesses the longest snout. There are no teeth. The tongue is long and sticky, the hard palate extended to the rear by the union of the pterygoid bones. The limbs, of approximately equal length, bear four or five digits, with large claws used for digging and for defence. The tail is long. Myrmecophaga is terrestrial; Cyclopes and Tamandua are smaller, arboreal, and have prehensile tails. There are three genera, with four species, distributed throughout tropical Central and S. America.

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