Northern tamandua
Northern tamandua[1] | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Pilosa |
Family: | Myrmecophagidae |
Genus: | Tamandua |
Species: | T. mexicana
|
Binomial name | |
Tamandua mexicana (
Saussure , 1860) | |
Northern tamandua range |
The northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) is a species of tamandua, an anteater in the family Myrmecophagidae. They live in tropical and subtropical forests from southern Mexico, through Central America, and to the edge of the northern Andes.[2]
Description
The northern tamandua is a medium-sized anteater with a prehensile tail, small eyes and ears, and a long snout. The fur is pale yellow over most of the body, with a distinctive patch of black fur over the flanks, back, and shoulders, that somewhat resembles a
Males and females are similar in size and colour, and range from 102 to 130 centimetres (40 to 51 in) in total length, including the 40 to 68 centimetres (16 to 27 in) tail. Adults weigh between 3.2 to 5.4 kilograms (7.1 to 11.9 lb).[4]
The northern tamandua closely resembles its southern relative. In contrast to the northern tamandua, which always has a black-vested pattern, southern tamanduas are highly variable in appearance across their range. Some southern tamandua populations are entirely pale, pale with an incomplete vest, or dark-colored; however, others have the same black vest as northern tamandua, and are more reliably distinguished by size, ear length, various differences in skull shape, and number of tail vertebrae (as well as location, as the two species' ranges don't overlap).[5]
Like other anteaters, the northern tamandua is highly adapted to its unusual diet. The tongue is long, extensible, and covered in sticky
In addition to its diet, and unlike the
Distribution and habitat
The northern tamandua inhabits forests from southern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and the northwestern corner of Peru.[2] It has been reported from various types of forest within this region, including evergreen, deciduous, mangrove swamps, cloud forests, and secondary forest. Four subspecies of T. mexicana are currently recognised:[4]
- T. m. mexicana - Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador
- T. m. instabilis - Venezuela, northern Colombia
- T. m. opistholeuca - Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, most of Colombia
- T. m. punensis - Ecuador, Peru
Behaviour
Northern tamanduas are mainly
Northern tamanduas subsist almost entirely on diets of
The anteaters can communicate with each other by leaving scent marks with their anal scent glands. Though infants can be quite vocal, adults rarely make any sounds. If provoked, they can prop themselves up on their hind legs and tails using a tree or rock for support, and lash out with their claws.[4]
Reproduction
With no defined breeding season for northern tamanduas, females appear to be able to enter
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: Tamandua or Lesser Anteater." Archived 2010-01-07 at the Wayback Machine Welcome to the San Diego Zoo. 2009 Zoological Society of San Diego. 16 Aug. 2009
- ^ Wetzel, Ralph M. (1975). "The species of Tamandua Gray (Edentata, Myrmecophagidae)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 88 (11): 95–112.
- S2CID 42891487.
- .