Anteater

Anteaters Temporal range: Early Miocene – present, 25–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Giant anteater
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Pilosa
Suborder:	Vermilingua Illiger, 1811
Families
Cyclopedidae Myrmecophagidae
Red: Cyclopedidae, Blue: Myrmecophagidae, Purple: both Cyclopedidae and Myrmecophagidae

Anteaters are the four extant mammal species in the suborder Vermilingua^[1] (meaning "worm tongue"), commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with sloths, they are within the order Pilosa. The name "anteater" is also commonly applied to the aardvark, numbat, echidnas, and pangolins, although they are not closely related to them.

Extant species are the giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla, about 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) long including the tail; the silky anteater Cyclopes didactylus, about 35 cm (14 in) long; the southern tamandua or collared anteater Tamandua tetradactyla, about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) long; and the northern tamandua Tamandua mexicana of similar dimensions.