Many people mistake aardvarks and anteaters as the same animal or closely related species. Despite shared dietary preferences and some superficial similarities, these two mammals are distinct creatures from different parts of the world, belonging to separate evolutionary lineages. Their individual characteristics reveal why they are often confused, yet remain fundamentally different.
The Aardvark Defined
The aardvark, Orycteropus afer, is a medium-sized, burrowing mammal native to Africa. Its name, from Afrikaans, means “earth pig,” referring to its pig-like snout and digging habits. It is the sole surviving species within its own mammalian order, Tubulidentata.
Aardvarks have a robust, stocky body with sparse, coarse hair, long, tubular ears, and a powerful, pig-like snout. They are nocturnal, sleeping in self-dug burrows to avoid heat and predators. They primarily eat ants and termites, which they excavate with powerful claws and lap up with a long, sticky tongue.
The Anteater Defined
Anteaters comprise four species of toothless mammals known for their specialized diet of ants and termites, primarily found across Central and South America. These include the giant anteater, silky anteater, northern tamandua, and southern tamandua. Anteaters belong to the suborder Vermilingua (“worm tongue”) and are classified within the order Pilosa, which also includes sloths.
Physically, anteaters have elongated, tubular snouts and exceptionally long, sticky tongues, extending up to 60 centimeters in the giant anteater. Their bodies are covered in dense fur, often with distinct patterns. They possess powerful claws for breaking into insect nests. Depending on the species, anteaters can be diurnal or nocturnal, inhabiting diverse environments from tropical rainforests to savannas.
How They Differ
Aardvarks are the sole members of the order Tubulidentata, while anteaters belong to the order Pilosa. Their geographic distributions are also entirely separate, with aardvarks exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa and anteaters in the Americas.
Aardvarks have a pig-like snout, rabbit-like ears, a thick, tapering tail, and coarse, bristly hair. In contrast, anteaters feature a more elongated, tubular snout, a long, often bushy tail (except for the giant anteater), and dense fur. While both use powerful claws for digging, an aardvark’s front claws are blunter, whereas an anteater’s are sharp and can be up to 10 centimeters long.
Explaining the Common Confusion
The common confusion between aardvarks and anteaters stems from their shared diet and resulting physical similarities. This specialized diet has led to convergent evolution, where unrelated species develop similar traits due to environmental pressures and ecological niches.
Both have evolved long snouts, powerful claws for digging into insect mounds, and long, sticky tongues to capture prey. These functional similarities, despite distinct evolutionary histories and geographic separation, contribute to the misunderstanding. They show how different lineages can independently arrive at similar biological solutions for survival.