Aardvark
| Aardvark Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Aardvark in the Bushveld, Limpopo | |
| At Royal Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, Netherlands | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Tubulidentata |
| Family: | Orycteropodidae |
| Genus: | Orycteropus |
| Species: | O. afer |
| Binomial name | |
| Orycteropus afer (Pallas, 1766) | |
| Subspecies | |
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See text | |
| Aardvark range | |
Aardvarks (/ˈɑːrdvɑːrk/ ⓘ ARD-vark; Orycteropus afer) are medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammals native to Africa. Aardvarks are the only living species of the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata. They have a long proboscis, similar to a pig's snout, which is used to sniff out food.
They are afrotheres, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes.
They are found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Nocturnal feeders, aardvarks subsist on ants and termites by using their sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills. Aardvarks also dig to create burrows in which to live and rear their young.