Giant anteater

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Giant anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Pantanal region, Brazil (cropped) .jpg

Giant anteater ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla )

Systematics
Superordinate : Sub-articulated animals (Xenarthra)
Order : Tooth arms (pilosa)
Subordination : Anteaters (Vermilingua)
Family : Myrmecophagidae
Genre : Myrmecophaga
Type : Giant anteater
Scientific name of the  genus
Myrmecophaga
Linnaeus , 1758
Scientific name of the  species
Myrmecophaga tridactyla
Linnaeus , 1758

The great anteater ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) is a mammal belonging to the order of the tooth arms . Together with the tamanduas and the dwarf anteaters , it forms the suborder of the anteaters (Vermilingua). It is their largest representative and occurs in South and Central America , but its original range was much larger. The giant anteater is primarily ground-dwelling and solitary, maintaining fairly large territories. The main diet consists of ants and termites . Females give birth to one young per litter, which is suckled for up to a year. The habitat includes different types of landscape from grasslands and savannah countries to forests. Due to landscape destruction and hunting, the population of the giant anteater is considered endangered.

description

Habitus

Head view of a giant anteater

The giant anteater is by far the largest representative of the anteater. It reaches a head-torso length of 100 to 140 cm, the bushy tail becomes 60 to 90 cm long. The weight of wild animals is 22 to 39 kg, but data up to 52 kg are also available. Male animals are on average slightly larger than females. The most striking feature is the long, thin and round-shaped snout, which houses a greatly elongated, up to 60 cm long and sticky saliva-covered tongue and is also typical of anteaters toothless. The eyes are brown and very small, as are the ears, which are round in shape and 3.5 to 6 cm long, but do not protrude above the head. At the base of the neck a slight hump rises, over the back of the neck a row of bristly, long hairs that form a kind of mane. The basic color of the long-haired fur is gray-brown, the chest and shoulders of the great anteater have black markings with white stripes. The front legs are white with a black ankle band, the rear legs and the bushy tail, which has hair up to 30 cm long, are darker in tint than the body. The individual animals each have a characteristic coat pattern, which includes stronger to weaker colored bands or clear or less distinctive spots, whereby an individual differentiation is possible. The front legs are extremely strong, the front feet have five toes, of which the three in the middle are greatly elongated and have large, sickle-shaped claws 10 to 15 cm long (hence the addition of tridactylus for "three toed"). The hind legs end in five toes, each with short claws, the hind foot length is 15 to 18 cm. Females have a pair of teats on their chest.

Skull and skeletal features

Anteater skull

The skull becomes a total of 21 cm long and is generally very narrow and elongated, the forehead line is clearly arched in side view. The tubular rostrum , which is very extensive and takes up around 65% of the total length of the skull, is striking . This makes the nasal bone roughly the same length as the frontal bone . The brain skull, on the other hand, is comparatively wide. Furthermore, the zygomatic arch is only rudimentary. The lower jaw is very low, the two halves are only loosely connected to each other at the symphysis . The low body of the lower jaw and the reduced zygomatic arch allow the anteater to chew laterally and in rotation, and also to control the tongue when it is extended or withdrawn. In addition, these movements of the lower jaw, which are mainly caused by the musculus pterygoideus medialis and the musculus temporalis , are an adaptation to the diet. Typically there are 16 thoracic and only two lumbar vertebrae. The xenarthric joints (secondary joints) usually occur on the three to four rearmost thoracic and the two lumbar vertebrae. In the case of the giant anteater, two additional secondary joints are formed, which reinforce the spine in the rear area and possibly serve to hold the weight when straightening the body while eating or defending. The ribs have strong widenings at their rear ends. In addition, four or five of the central ribs are clearly elongated.

Sensory performances and vocalizations

The anteater's sense of sight is only rudimentary, but its sense of smell is very good. This is mainly used when searching for food. An animal is generally quiet, sometimes there is a slight grunt, especially when it is disturbed. Some animals utter a long harrrr sound when attacking a conspecific.

distribution

Distribution area (blue) of the great anteater. In the red areas, the species may have disappeared by now.

The giant anteater is native to Central and South America, its range extends from southern Belize and Guatemala to northern Argentina . It may have already disappeared from its northernmost habitats, but there are more recent indications from Honduras . In the southern part of Central America, such as central Panama , it has already partially disappeared. In South America the species occurs mainly east of the Andes , only in Colombia and possibly in Ecuador it also inhabits the lowlands west of the Andes, the data for Ecuador have yet to be confirmed. In the south of the dispersal area there have already been significant habitat losses . In historical times, the giant anteater could be found far south of the 31st parallel in the southern hemisphere. It is already extinct in northern Uruguay , eastern Paraguay and southeastern Brazil . The southernmost distribution limit is represented today in the northern part of Argentina, where the anteater species has also retreated further north in recent years. The entire current distribution area is given as 12.5 million square kilometers, but the actually inhabited area is unknown.

The giant anteater inhabits many different landscapes and is found in swamps, tropical rainforests , dry forests, and most commonly in savannas . He lives in the Gran Chaco regions as well as the Pantanal , the Cerrado regions and the Amazon basin . There have been several sightings from highland areas in Central America. A sufficient number of ants and termites is a prerequisite for the presence of the giant anteater . Studies in north-eastern Argentina showed that the animals in landscapes with mixed vegetation types often prefer dense forests or grasslands with high vegetation over short-grass savannahs. This could on the one hand be related to the insulating effect at extreme temperatures, on the other hand to better hiding places in the event of potential danger. In general, however, they avoid intensively used pastures. The density of the populations depends on the nature of the landscape. In the Pantanal, it is 0.15 individuals per square kilometer. It is significantly higher in forests with 0.41 individuals, rather low in Llanos with 0.18 and in flood plains with 0.12 individuals on the same area. A population density of 0.2 individuals per square kilometer is given for the Emas National Park .

Way of life

Territorial behavior

Anteater front view

As the only member of its family, the anteater is a pure ground dweller. Normally it is diurnal, but this varies with the time of year, so that on hot days an animal mostly forages in the cool morning and evening hours, but on cooler days more during the day. Regionally, there is a partial dependence on the activity of the prey, which means that the anteater is more often out and about at night in the Llanos regions of Venezuela. In general, its activity shifts towards night in heavily populated areas. In addition, the giant anteater is solitary and territorial. The areas are usually between 5 and 25 km² in size, but in extreme cases can reach up to 90 km². The size depends on the nature of the habitat . In the Pantanal, for example, a size of 5.7 km² for males and up to 11.9 km² for females was determined. It is unclear whether females generally own larger territories, since in the Emas National Park in the Cerrado an average area size of 9.8 km² has been proven for both sexes. The boundaries of the individual territories can overlap, but the animals tend to keep a distance from one another. Overlapping territorial boundaries is more common in females than in males.

The areas are often marked. These markings are usually made on the trunks of larger trees by scratching with the long claws of the front feet. This also serves to sharpen the claws; However, since the scratch marks are placed far below the branches of the trunk and are clearly visible, according to experts, these are also used for visual communication. Rarely does the anteater mark with urine . Within the territory, the anteater species moves on all fours on the ground, with the claws of the front feet folded down so that the toes are strongly bent and the weight is borne by the lower surfaces of the three larger toes. Mostly it runs rather slowly, but can also turn into a fast sprint. Every day an animal covers between 1.3 and 11 km, an average of 3.7 km. In addition, the giant anteater is a good swimmer; in the Amazon region, an animal has been observed crossing a 150 m wide river, alternately swimming and climbing over the protruding rocks. Occasionally an animal is observed climbing a termite mound up to 2 m high, and young animals can also climb up to 20 m high in trees. Encounters between two or more animals are often very aggressive, especially among males. The fights, which are partly ritualized, but can also end very bloody, are carried out with the forefoot claws. So far, meetings between different individuals without confrontation have been observed very rarely, for example between several mother and young animals while they are eating. An animal retreats to rest in shallow, mostly self-made hollows in dense vegetation; the anteater does not dig deeper earth structures or caves despite its strong claws and physical ability. The sleeping position is lying on the side with the muzzle in front of the front feet, with the thick tail covering the body. The position of the tail serves on the one hand not to lose too much body heat, but on the other hand also as camouflage.

nutrition

Looking for food

The anteater is a specialized insect eater, its main diet consists of ants and termites , of which it eats up to 35,000 animals every day, which it can detect using its good sense of smell. With its strong claws it breaks insect nests, including very solid termite burrows . He uses a "hook and pull method" by sticking the claws into small openings and pulling the front legs back vigorously. The anteater licks the insects with its long tongue, which protrudes up to 40 cm from its mouth, the prey sticks because of the mucous membrane-like coating. However, the anteater can only eat for a short time at the respective burrow before the termites and ants use their toxins in a targeted and organized manner, so that the average feeding time is around 40 seconds before it looks for a new nest and later returns to exploit the colony again . Due to this behavior, the individual nests are never completely cleared. The tubular snout also limits the food spectrum, so that the anteater species is heavily dependent on colony-forming insects. There are clear regional differences, with the extreme, according to studies on excrement residues , based 100% on termites in the Brazilian state of Amapá and 100% on ants in the state of Ceará . In the Pantanal, ants are mainly consumed, including representatives of the Solenopsis genus , which make up around 46% of the total, but to a lesser extent also Camponotus (12%), Labidus (2%) and Odontomachus (2%). Termites, on the other hand, are only represented by two genera: Nasutitermes and Armitermes . Further analyzes in Argentina show that the great anteater there often prefers termites of the genera Nasutitermes and Cornitermes as well as ant genera such as Camponotus , Iridomyrmex or Solenopsis , with their respective share in the food quantity fluctuating with the season. For the Gran Chaco region alone , representatives of a total of 14 species of ants have been recorded in the food spectrum, including some that prefer to inhabit trees. In addition, investigations on 23 faecal samples from the southern Brazilian state of Paraná in 2007 and 2008 also provided evidence of remains of leaf-cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex in almost all cases . Regular consumption of these ants was not accepted due to their aggressiveness, especially since captive animals mostly avoided this food supply. Previously, the consumption of leaf-cutting ants was only known from Colombia. In addition, it was also observed how the giant anteater plunders nests of honeybees , including in a 1.5 m high, abandoned termite den in the Emas National Park . The giant anteater drinks water regularly and digs for it in small holes in dry seasons.

Reproduction

Year old cub plays with mother

Reproduction takes place all year round, but there are indications of a more limited period between May and July. It is the only phase when multiple animals come together. The sexual cycle of the females lasts 47 to 62 days and begins about every seven weeks. The courtship behavior is strongly ritualized and includes circling around each other, showing the claws and punching with the forearms to bring the potential partner to the ground. Sometimes it can also lead to aggression , especially if the female still has a young from the previous birth with her. After a gestation period of around 183 to 190 days , the mother animal gives birth to a single young. As a rule, about twice as many male as female pups are born. A newborn baby weighs 1.1 to 1.6 kg, is about 53 cm long with tail and has closed eyes; these only open after about six days. The mother animal often carries the young when it goes foraging, which can happen up to a year old. The youngster lies lengthways on its back and is thus partly covered by the thick fur of the mother, while on the other hand its markings merge with that of the mother animal. On the ground, the young animal is never more than a meter away from the mother in the first six weeks; the distance increases to 20 meters by the fourth month of life. In the first few months, mother and young often play with each other, which can be seen in jumping, playing with objects or claws; Mutual licking is also common and can last for up to an hour. Due to the long snout, the young animal sucks with its tongue, initially spending up to almost 20% of its active time ingesting its mother's milk. From the third month of life it starts to eat solid food, from the ninth month this food component predominates. When changing food, the mother teaches the offspring which food is usable and which smell trail to follow, which is one of the few examples of active learning within the secondary animals. Complete weaning takes place at ten to twelve months, when the young anteater weighs around 6.0 to 6.5 kg and is 105 cm long. The animals reach sexual maturity at two to four years of age. In human care, a giant anteater lived to be almost 26 years old, but the documented average age is around 16 years. Life expectancy in the wild is unknown.

Predator and enemy behavior

Jaguars are one of the few predators

The biggest predators are jaguars and puma , but the anteater is not often preyed on by these big cats. Investigations in the Gran Chaco on 106 excrement remains of the jaguar and 95 of the puma revealed only two or three indications of the killing of the great anteater. During an observation of 10 jaguars, five male and five female animals, from October 2001 to April 2004 in the southern Pantanal , a total of 14 captured giant anteaters were found, which was only 3.2% of all animals shot during this period. Furthermore, the anteater species is rarer where dogs are more common. A threatened animal stands up on its hind legs and defends itself by striking it with the claws of its front feet. In principle, the anteater locates predators via the weather, whereby it is able to differentiate between potential predators and other predators.

Parasites

The external parasites mainly include various species of the tick genus Amblyomma , mites such as Otodectes or Edentalges also occur, but fleas rarely . As internal parasites are mainly nematodes known, including Aspidodera , Brevigraphidium or Physaloptera . Furthermore were tapeworms demonstrated inter alia Mathevotaenia . Coccidia could also be identified as parasites with Eimeria .

Systematics

Internal systematics of the recent anteaters according to Delsuc et al. 2012
  Vermilingua  
  Cyclopedidae  

 Cyclopes


  Myrmecophagidae  
  Tamandua  

 Tamandua mexicana


   

 Tamandua tetradactyla



  Myrmecophaga  

 Myrmecophaga tridactyla




Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The giant anteater is currently the only species from the monotypic genus Myrmecophaga . It belongs in turn to the family of the Myrmecophagidae , to which the Tamanduas ( Tamandua ) are assigned, within the subordination of the anteaters (Vermilingua). In addition to the Myrmecophagidae, only the Cycopedidae with the dwarf anteaters ( Cyclopes ) as their only living member today are placed in the Vermilingua. The Myrmecophagidae and the Cyclopedidae separated according to molecular genetic studies in the Middle Eocene around 38 million years ago. The split of the Myrmecophagidae into Tamandua and Myrmecophaga began, according to the same research, at the beginning of the Upper Miocene 13 million years ago.

Fossil is Myrmecophaga first time in the Pliocene tangible, the oldest finds are those of Monte Hermoso from the Argentine province of Buenos Aires . The third metacarpal bone found belongs to the extinct species Myrmecophaga caroloameghinoi , which was originally relegated to its own genus Nunezia . Other old finds came from El Breal de Orocual in northeastern Venezuela , which are to be placed in the transition from the Pliocene to the Lower Pleistocene . Finds from Sonora in northwest Mexico show that the anteater species penetrated far north in the Lower Pleistocene as part of the Great American Fauna Exchange and was later pushed back to its current range due to climatic changes. The southernmost finds come from Uruguay . In general, the great anteater is quite often passed down in fossil form from the Pleistocene.

Today there are three subspecies of the giant anteater:

The species Myrmecophaga tridactyla was named in 1758 by Linnaeus , who continued to classify the common pygmy anteater ( Cyclopes didactylus ) and the southern tamandua ( Tamandua tetradactyla ) under the same generic name and differentiated them based on the number of clawed forefoot toes. Linnaeus specified America Meridionali as the type locality for the giant anteater. The genus name Myrmecophaga is made up of the Greek words μύρμηξ ( mýrmēx , genitive: μύρμηκος mýrmēkos "ant") and φαγεῖν ( phageín "eat") and refers to the main diet of animals.

Threat and protection

Giant anteater in the Pantanal , Brazil

Because of its size, the anteater is a frequent hunting target and some of its meat is used as a food resource. However, this tradition is very different among indigenous peoples. According to a study, the Waimiri Atroari ethnic group, which then comprised around 800 people, shot a total of three anteaters in the central Amazon lowlands within one year (1993–1994). The total weight was 90 kilograms, which accounted for around 0.2 percent of the total biomass hunted by the Waimiri Atroari over the year. The Chamacoco from Paraguay, on the other hand, do not consume the meat of the anteater for religious reasons, while the residents of Nicaragua avoid the meat because of the taste. However, sometimes a giant anteater is also killed by hunters or their dogs . As a rule, the animals avoid encounters with people, but this is not always possible due to their poor vision and hearing. A harassed animal defends itself with its long, sharp claws, which in individual cases also ended fatally for humans. The illegal wildlife trade and keeping as pets pose additional anthropogenic threats.

However, the anteater species is often the victim of traffic accidents, especially in open land, as the eyes do not give off any reflections at night. The influence of fire is also significant, as it allows the individual populations to vary significantly, especially in grasslands. The main factor behind the decline in the population, however, is the destruction of the landscape due to the spread of human settlements and agricultural areas, which is a major threat, especially for the Central American populations.

Experts assume a decrease of around 30 percent for the total stock since 1996. The IUCN lists the giant anteater as "endangered" ( vulnerable ), but regionally there are even higher warning levels. The animals are found in numerous protected areas, including the Emas National Park , the Serra da Canastra National Park and the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil, in the latter of which the species was only detected in 2014. During the same period, the anteater was captured using camera traps in Baritú National Park in northern Argentina. There is also an international breeding program in zoological institutions. The Zoo Dortmund , where more than 50 births were recorded, leading the international studbook. In the Iberá Nature Reserve in north-east Argentina, a total of 18 giant anteaters were released between 2007 and 2012 as part of a reintroduction project and their habitat selection was monitored.

Other protective measures also include studies of the influence of forest and bush fires on the development of the anteater population and the development of effective measures for fire protection and the control of natural or man-made bush fires.

literature

  • Alessandra Bertassoni: Myrmecophagidae (Anteaters). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 74–90 (pp. 88–89) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4 .
  • Timothy J. Gaudin, Patrick Hicks and Yamil diBlanco: Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae). Mammalian Species 50 (956), 2018, pp. 1-13.
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Timothy J. Gaudin, Patrick Hicks and Yamil diBlanco: Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae). Mammalian Species 50 (956), 2018, pp. 1-13.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Paul Smith: Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758. Fauna of Paraguay 2, 2007, pp. 1-18.
  3. ^ Lydia Möcklinghoff, Karl-L. Schuchmann and Marinêz I. Marques: New non-invasive photo-identification technique for free-ranging giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) facilitates urgently needed field studies. Journal of Natural History 52 (37-38), 2018, pp. 2397-2411.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Alessandra Bertassoni: Myrmecophagidae (Anteaters). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, pp. 74–90 (pp. 89–90) ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4 .
  5. ↑ Hideki Endo, Nobuharu Niizawa, Teruyuki Komiya, Shinichiro Kawada, Junpei Kimura, Takuya Itou, Hiroshi Koie and Takeo Sakai: Three-Dimensional CT Examination of the Mastication System in the Giant Anteater. Zoological Science 24, 2007, pp. 1005-1011.
  6. ↑ Hideki Endo, Teruyuki Komiya, Shinichiro Kawada, Akiko Hayashida, Junpei Kimura, Takuya Itou, Hiroshi Koie and Takeo Sakai: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Xenarthrous Process of the Thoracic and Lumber Vertebrae in the Giant Anteater. Mammal Study 34 (1), 2009, pp. 1-6.
  7. ↑ Christy M. McCain: First Evidence of the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Honduras. The Southwestern Naturalist 46 (2), 2001, pp. 252-254.
  8. ^ Hector Orlando Portillo Reyes, Wilfredo Antonio Matamoros and Sheri L. Glowinski: Distribution and Conservation Status of the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Honduras. The Southwestern Naturalist 55 (1), 2010, pp. 118-120.
  9. ↑ Marcio A. Martinez, Manfredo Alejandro Turcios-Casco and Shasling Pacheco Amador: On the conservation of Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae) in the core of Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras. Mammalia, 2020, doi: 10.1515 / mammalia-2019-0152
  10. ↑ Guillermo Pérez Jimeno and Lucía Llarín Amaya: Contribución al Conocimiento de la Distribución del oso Hormiguero Gigante (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) en Argentina. Edentata 8-10, 2009, pp. 8-12.
  11. ↑ a b c Flávia Miranda and IM Medri: Myremecophaga tridactyla. Edentata 11 (2), 2010, pp. 103-104.
  12. ↑ James Sanderson and Leandro Silveira: Observations of Xenarthra in the Brazilian Cerrado and Guyana. Edentata 5, 2003, pp. 40-44.
  13. ↑ a b Yamil E. Di Blanco, Ignacio Jiménez Pérez and Mario S. Di Bitetti: Habitat Selection in Reintroduced Giant Anteaters: The Critical Role of Conservation Areas. Journal of Mammalogy 96 (5), 2015, pp. 1024-1035.
  14. ↑ Arnaud Léonard Jean Desbiez and Ísis Meri Medri: Density and Habitat Use by Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and Southern Tamanduas (Tamandua tetradactyla) in the Pantanal Wetland, Brazil. Edentata 11 (1), 2010, pp. 4-10.
  15. ↑ Constança de Sampaio, Paiva Camilo-Alves and Guilherme de Miranda Mourão: Responses of a Specialized Insectivorous Mammal (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) to Variation in Ambient Temperature. Biotropica 38 (1), 2006, pp. 52-56.
  16. ↑ Rosane G. Collevatti, Kelly CE Leite, Guilherme HB de Miranda and Flavio HG Rodrigues: Evidence of high inbreeding in a population of the endangered giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Myrmecophagidae), from Emas National Park, Brazil. Genetics and Molecular Biology 30 (1), 2007, pp 112-120.
  17. ↑ a b c Flávio HG Rodrigues, Ísis. M. Medri, Guilherme. HB de Miranda, Constança. Camilo-Alves and Guilherme Mourão: Anteater behavior and ecology. In: Sergio F. Vizcaíno and WJ Loughry (eds.): The biology of the Xenarthra. University Press of Florida, 2008, pp. 257-268
  18. ↑ Fernanda G. Braga, Raphael EF Santos and Antonio C. Batista: Marking behavior of the giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Mammalia: Myrmecophagidae) in Southern Brazil. Zoologia 27 (1), 2010, pp. 7-12.
  19. ^ A b Sue D. Hirschfeld: A new fossil anteater (Edentata, Mammalia) from Colombia, SA and evolution of the Vermilingua. Journal of Paleontology 50 (3), 1976, pp. 419-432.
  20. ↑ Louisa Mamalis, Suenny Sousa da Silva, Andressa Bezerra Valerio, Darren Norris and Fernanda Michalski: Stepping stones facilitate river crossings by Myrmecophaga tridactyla in the north-eastern Brazilian Amazon. Edentata 19, 2018, pp. 30-34.
  21. ↑ Robert J. Young, Carlyle M. Coelho and Dalía R. Wieloch: A note on the climbing abilities of giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Xenarthra, Myrmecophagidae). Boletim do Museu de Biologia Mello Leitão, Nova Série 15, 2003, pp. 41-46.
  22. ^ Fabiana L. Rocha and Guilherme Mourão: An Agonistic Encounter Between Two Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Edentata 7, 2006, pp. 50-51.
  23. ↑ Kolja Kreutz, Frauke Fischer and K. Eduard Linsenmair: Observations of Intraspecific Aggression in Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Edentata 8-10, 2009, pp 6-7.
  24. ↑ Mariana Labão Catapani, Karina Theodoro Molina, Alexandre Martins Costa Lopes and Flávia Miranda: Report of three non-agonistic encounters of free-living giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Edentata 20, 2019, pp. 31-34.
  25. ↑ Ísis Meri Medri and Guilherme Mourão: A Brief Note on the Sleeping Habits of the Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Xenarthra, Myrmecophagidae). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22, 2005, pp. 1213-1215.
  26. ↑ Kent H. Redford: Dietary specialization and variation in two mammalian myrmecophages (variation in mammalian myrmecophagy). Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 59, 1986, pp. 201-208.
  27. ↑ Ísis Meri Medri, Guilherme de Miranda Mourão and Ana Yoshi Harada: Dieta de Tamanduá-Bandeira (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) no Pantanal da Nhecolândia, Brasil. Edentata 5, 2003, pp. 29-34.
  28. ↑ Jorge Alberto Gallo, Agustín Manuel Abba, Luciana Elizalde, Dante Di Nucci, Tatiana Agustina Ríos and María Cecilia Ezquiaga: First study on food habits of anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactylaand Tamandua tetradactyla, at the southern limit of their distribution. Mammalia 81 (6), 2017, pp. 601-604.
  29. ↑ Fernanda Góss Braga, Nilton José Souza, Antonio Carlos Batista and Pedro Pacheco dos Santos Lima: Consumo de formigas cortadeiras por tamanduá-bandeira Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758) em plantios de Pinus spp. no Paraná, Brazil. Edentata 15, 2014, pp. 1-8.
  30. ↑ Vivian E. Sandoval-Gómez, Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves and David Marín: Registros de hormigas y termitas presentes en la dieta de osos hormigueros (Mammalia: Myrmecophagidae) en tres localidades de Colombia. Edentata 13, 2012, pp. 1-9.
  31. ↑ Guilherme Henrique Braga de Miranda, Flávio Henrique Guimarães Rodrigues, Ísis Meri Medri and Fernanda Vinci dos Santos: Giant Anteater Mymecophaga tridactyla Beehive Foraging at Emas National Park, Brazil. Edentata 5, 2003, p. 55.
  32. ↑ Katrina K Knott, Beth M Roberts, Morgan A Maly, Carrie K Vance, Jennifer DeBeachaump, Jackie Majors, Peter Riger, Heather DeCaluwe and Andrew J Kouba: Fecal estrogen, progestagen and glucocorticoid metabolites during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla): evidence for delayed implantation. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 11, 2013, p. 83 doi: 10.1186 / 1477-7827-11-83 .
  33. ↑ Jorge Anthony Astwood Romero, Patrícia Carolina Casas Martínez, Sol Ángela Ojeda Holguín and Ricardo Murillo Pacheco: Notas sobre el Comportamiento de Cortejo y Apareamiento de Myrmecophaga tridactyla Bajo Condiciones Ex Situ. Edentata 11 (1), 2010, pp. 34-43.
  34. ↑ José Fernando Miranda Júnior and Alessandra Bertassoni: Potential agonistic courtship and mating behavior between two adult giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Edentata 15, 2014, pp. 69-72.
  35. ↑ Danielle D. Brown and Miranda A. Moore: Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) mothers may teach their calves what “not to eat”. Edentata 19, 2018, pp. 61-66.
  36. ^ Sara de Valle Jerez and Monique Halloy: El Oso Hormiguero Myrmecophaga tridactyla: Crecimiento e Independización de una Cria. Mastozoologia Neotropical 10, 2003, pp. 323-330.
  37. ↑ Sandra MC Cavalcanti and Eric M. Gese: Kill rates and predation patterns of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the southern Pantanal, Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy 91 (3), 2010, pp. 722-736.
  38. ↑ Cristian Gabriel Orlando and Gustavo Javier Fernández: Respuesta antidepredatoria de osos hormigueros (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) mantenidos en cautividad. Edentata 15, 2014, pp. 52-59.
  39. ↑ Adrian G. Mutlow, Michael W. Dryden and Patricia A. Payne: Flea (Pulex simulans) infestation in captive Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 37 (3), 2006, pp. 427-429.
  40. ↑ a b Frédéric Delsuc, Mariella Superina, Marie-Ka Tilak, Emmanuel JP Douzery and Alexandre Hassanin: Molecular phylogenetics unveils the ancient evolutionary origins of the enigmatic fairy armadillos. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62, 2012, 673-680.
  41. ↑ Frédéric Delsuc, Sergio F Vizcaíno and Emmanuel JP Douzery: Influence of Tertiary paleoenvironmental changes on the diversification of South American mammals: a relaxed molecular clock study within xenarthrans. BMC Evolutionary Biology 4 (11), 2004, pp. 1-13.
  42. ↑ Gillian C. Gibb, Fabien L. Condamine, Melanie Kuch, Jacob Enk, Nadia Moraes-Barros, Mariella Superina, Hendrik N. Poinar and Frédéric Delsuc: Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference Phylogenetic Framework and Timescale for Living Xenarthrans. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33 (3), 2015, pp. 621-642.
  43. ^ H. Gregory McDonald, Sergio F. Vizcaíno and M. Susana Bargo: Skeletal anatomy and the fossil history of the Vermilingua. In: Sergio F. Vizcaíno and WJ Loughry (eds.): The Biology of the Xenarthra. University Press of Florida, 2008, pp. 64-78.
  44. ↑ Ascanio D. Rincón, Gilberto E. Parra, Francisco J. Prevosti, Maria teresa Alberdi and Christopher J. Bell: A preliminary assessment of the Mammalian fauna from the Pliocene-Pleistocene El Breal de Orocual locality, Monagas state, Venezuela. In: LB Albright III (Ed.): Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology, and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65, 2009, pp. 593-620.
  45. ↑ Christopher A. Shaw and H. Gregory McDonald: First Record of Giant Anteater (Xenarthra, Myrmecophagidae) in North America. Science 236, 1987, pp. 186-188.
  46. Jump up ↑ Roselis Remor de Souza-Mazurek, Temehe Pedrinho, Xinymy Feliciano, Waraié Hilário, Sanapyty Gerôncio and Ewepe Marcelo: Subsistence hunting among the Waimiri Atroari Indians in central Amazonia, Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 9 :, 2000, pp. 579-596.
  47. ↑ Jeremy M. Koster: Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) Killed By Hunters With Dogs In the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. The Southwestern Naturalist 53 (3), 2008, pp. 414-416.
  48. ↑ Vidal Haddad Jr., Guilherme C. Reckziegel, Domingos G. Neto and Fábio L. Pimentel: Human Death Caused by a Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga trydactila) in Brazil. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 2014 ( sciencedirect.com ).
  49. ↑ a b Flávia Miranda, A. Bertassoni and AM Abba: Myrmecophaga tridactyla. In: IUCN 2014. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. e.T14224A47441961 ( [1] ), last accessed June 29, 2013.
  50. ↑ Anne-Sophie Bertrand and Amadeu MVM Soares: First reports of Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and Greater naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous tatouay) for the Iguaçu National Park, Paraná, Brazil, with notes on all xenarthran occurrences. Edentata 19, 2018, pp. 35-41.
  51. ↑ Norberto Ángel Nigro, Nicolás Lodeiro Ocampo and Luz Estefanía Paronzini: Primeros registros mediante cámaras trampa de oso hormiguero gigante (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) en el Parque Nacional Baritú, provincia de Salta, Argentina. Edentata, 2020
  52. ↑ Dortmund Zoo: Giant anteater. ( [2] ), last accessed on August 12, 2013.

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