Silky anteater
Silky anteater[1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Pilosa |
Family: | Cyclopedidae |
Genus: | Cyclopes J. E. Gray, 1821 |
Species: | C. didactylus
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Binomial name | |
Cyclopes didactylus | |
Silky anteater range | |
Synonyms | |
Myrmecophaga didactyla Linnaeus, 1758 |
The silky anteater, also known as the pygmy anteater, has traditionally been considered a single
A taxonomic review in 2017, including both molecular and morphological evidence, found that Cyclopes may actually comprise at least seven species.[4] The only known extinct cyclopedid species is Palaeomyrmidon incomtus, from the Late Miocene (c. 7 to 9 million years ago) of modern-day Argentina.[5][6]
Description
Silky anteaters are the smallest living anteaters and have proportionately shorter faces and larger
The scientific name translates roughly as "two-toed circle-foot", and refers to the presence of two
They have partially prehensile tails.
Distribution and habitat
Silky anteaters are found from Oaxaca and southern Veracruz in Mexico, through Central America (except El Salvador), and south to Ecuador, and northern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. A distinct population is found in the northern Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Silky anteaters are also found on the island of Trinidad. They inhabit a range of different forest types, including semi-deciduous, tropical evergreen, and mangrove forests, from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).[2]
Systematics
Silky anteaters form the sister clade to the
Until a detailed taxonomic review in 2017, seven subspecies of C. didactylus were recognized.[6]
- C. d. didactylus Linnaeus, 1758 - the Guyanas, eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Atlantic Forest
- C. d. catellus Thomas, 1928 - northern Bolivia, southeastern Peru, western Brazil
- C. d. dorsalis Gray, 1865 - extreme southern Mexico, Central America, northern Colombia
- C. d. eva Thomas, 1902 - western Ecuador, southwestern Colombia
- C. d. ida, Thomas, 1900 - western Brazil, eastern Ecuador and Peru
- C. d. melini Lönnberg, 1928 - northern Brazil, eastern Colombia
- C. d. mexicanus Hollister, 1914 - southern Mexico
Cladogram of living Cyclopes[7][4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2017 review suggests that four of these subspecies deserve to be recognized as species, while the others are synonyms. It also described three new species of silky anteater.[4]
- C. didactylus (Guyanas, eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Atlantic Forest and northern Brazil
- C. catellus Thomas, 1928 - Bolivia
- C. dorsalis (Gray, 1865) (synonyms: C. d. eva and C. d. mexicanus) - western Ecuador, southwestern to northern Colombia, Central America, southern Mexico
- C. ida Thomas, 1900 - western Brazil, eastern Ecuador, eastern Colombia and Peru
- C. thomasi Miranda et al., 2017 - Central Peru, extreme western Brazil (Acre)
- C. rufus Miranda et al., 2017 - Brazil (Rondônia)
- C. xinguensis Miranda et al., 2017 - Brazil, between the Amazon river)
Behavior
Silky anteaters are
The silky anteater is a slow-moving animal and feeds mainly on
It is a solitary animal and gives birth to a single young, up to twice a year. The young are born already furred, and with a similar colour pattern to the adults. They begin to take solid food when they are about one-third of the adult mass.[6] The young is usually placed inside a nest of dead leaves built in tree holes,[8] and left for about eight hours each night.[6]
Some authors suggest the silky anteater usually dwells in
When threatened, the silky anteater, like other anteaters, defends itself by standing on its hind legs and holding its fore feet close to its face so it can strike any animal that tries to get close with its sharp claws.[6]
The silky anteater is a host of the
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Linnæus, Carl (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (in Latin) (10th ed.). Holmiæ: Laurentius Salvius. p. 35. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-0813031651.
- ^ doi:10.1644/895.1.
- PMID 26556496.
- ^ a b c d e Bartoz, Suzy; Cerda, Anthony (2009). "Silky Anteater". Benedictine University. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved 16 Aug 2009.
- S2CID 84901651.
- ISBN 9789004058194.
- ^ "Cyclopes didactylus (Silky Anteater)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ "Silky Anteater". WildMagazine. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- JSTOR 1378984.
- PMID 31867208.
Other sources
- OCLC 44179508.
- Eisenberg, J.F. and Redford, K.H. 1999. "Mammals of the Neotropics, Volume 3: The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil". University of Chicago Press.