View source for Myrmecophagidae

{{Short description|Family of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Myrmecophagidae
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Miocene|Recent}}
| image = Myresluger2.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Myrmecophaga tridactyla]]'' (giant anteater)
| taxon = Myrmecophagidae
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1825
| type_genus = ''[[Myrmecophaga]]''
| type_genus_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = ''[[Giant anteater|Myrmecophaga]]''<br>
''[[Tamandua]]''<br>
†''[[Neotamandua]]''<br>
†''[[Protamandua]]''
| range_map = Myrmecophagidae range species.jpg
}}

The '''Myrmecophagidae''' are a family of [[anteater]]s, the name being derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] words for 'ant' and 'eat' (''myrmeco-'' and ''{{lang|grc-Latn|phagos}}'').   Two genera and three species are in the family, consisting of the [[giant anteater]], and the [[tamandua]]s. The fossil ''[[Eurotamandua]]'' from the [[Messel Pit]] in [[Germany]] may be an early anteater, but its status is currently debated.

==Characteristics==
Myrmecophagids are medium to large animals, with distinctively elongated snouts and long, narrow tongues. They have powerful claws on their toes, enabling them to rip open termite mounds and ant nests to eat the insects inside. They have no teeth, but produce a large amount of sticky saliva to trap the insects, as well as backward-pointing spines on their tongues. Ants and termites are almost their only food in the wild, and their primary source of water, although they sometimes also drink free-standing water, and occasionally eat fruits.<ref name=EoM>{{cite book|editor= Macdonald, D.|author= Dickman, Christopher R.|year= 1984|title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location= New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/772 772–775]|isbn= 0-87196-871-1|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/772}}</ref>

== Distribution ==
Myrmecophagids are found in Central and South America, from southern Belize and Guatemala to northern Argentina.<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{Cite web|title = Myrmecophaga tridactyla (giant anteater)|url = http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Myrmecophaga_tridactyla/|website = Animal Diversity Web|access-date = 2015-11-08}}</ref>

== Reproduction ==
Most myrmecophagids are solitary, meeting only to mate. Myrmecophagids are polygamous and the male generally has no role in caring for the young. The male [[silky anteater]] is an exception and helps to feed its young. The gestation period of myrmecophagids ranges from 120 to 190 days. Myrmecophagids typically give birth to one offspring at a time, and the cub lives on its mothers back for 6–9 months after it is born. Myrmecophagids have such sharp claws that they cannot touch their young without causing injury.<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/>

== Evolutionary history ==
Myrmecophagids belong to the [[Xenarthra]], formerly known as Edentata, which also includes sloths and armadillos.<ref name="cambridge.org">{{Cite web|title = Evolution of body size in anteaters and sloths (Xenarthra, Pilosa): phylogeny, metabolism, diet and substrate preferences|url = https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/evolution-of-body-size-in-anteaters-and-sloths-xenarthra-pilosa-phylogeny-metabolism-diet-and-substrate-preferences/421A0CE4BDBEDA50117FC0AE9EED878C|website = Cambridge|access-date = 2023-12-09}}</ref> Edentates (meaning without teeth) diverged from insectivores during the Cretaceous period, roughly 135 million years ago. The fossil record of the family Myrmecophagidae dates to the [[Early Miocene]] in South America, roughly 25 million years ago.{{cn|date=December 2021}} Throughout their evolutionary history, myrmecophagids have maintained a narrow range, though at one point their range may have extended to northern Mexico.<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/>{{notinsource|date=December 2021}}

==Taxonomy==
*Order: [[Pilosa]]
**Suborder: [[Folivora]]
**Suborder: [[Vermilingua]]
***Family: [[Cyclopedidae]]
****Genus: ''[[Cyclopes (genus)|Cyclopes]]''
*****Species: ''[[Cyclopes didactylus]]'' - silky anteater
***Family: '''Myrmecophagidae'''
****Genus: ''[[Protamandua]]'' †
****Genus: ''[[Myrmecophaga]]''
*****Species: ''[[Myrmecophaga tridactyla]]'' - giant anteater
****Genus: ''[[Neotamandua]]'' †
****Genus: ''[[Tamandua]]''
*****Species: ''[[Tamandua mexicana]]'' - northern tamandua
*****Species: ''[[Tamandua tetradactyla]]'' - southern tamandua

==References==
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
* "Anteaters: Myrmecophagidae - Behavior And Reproduction." ''- Female, Silky, Claws, and Birth''. 08 Nov. 2015.{{full|date=December 2021}}
* "Anteater Online." ''Anteater Online''. 08 Nov. 2015.{{full|date=December 2021}}

{{Pilosa}}
{{Pilosan genera|P.|state=autocollapse}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q206538}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mammals of Colombia]]
[[Category:Anteaters]]
[[Category:Mammal families]]
[[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]


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