![]() Fossils from the aardvark have been dated to 5 million years, and have been located throughout Europe and the Near East. The earliest example from the genus Orycteropus was Orycteropus mauritanicus, found in Algeria in deposits from the middle Miocene, with an equally old version found in Kenya. The first unambiguous tubulidentate was probably Myorycteropus africanus from Kenyan Miocene deposits. The ptolemaiidans, a mysterious clade of mammals with uncertain affinities, may actually be stem-aardvarks, either as a sister clade to Tubulidentata or as a grade leading to true tubulidentates. Evolutionary historyīased on fossils, Bryan Patterson has concluded that early relatives of the aardvark appeared in Africa around the end of the Paleocene. Studies of the brain have shown the similarities with Condylarthra. Along with sirenians, hyraxes, elephants, and their extinct relatives, these animals form the superorder Afrotheria. The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews, tenrecidae, and golden moles. The similarities are the outcome of convergent evolution. The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance. The aardvark is not closely related to the pig rather, it is the sole extant representative of the obscure mammalian order Tubulidentata, in which it is usually considered to form one variable species of the genus Orycteropus, the sole surviving genus in the family Orycteropodidae. The name of the aardvark's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style teeth. The name Orycteropus means "burrowing foot", and the name afer refers to Africa. ![]() The name "aardvark" is Afrikaans ( Afrikaans pronunciation: ), comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark and means "earth pig" or "ground pig" ( aarde: "earth", vark: "pig", or "young pig"/child), because of its burrowing habits. The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters), or the "Cape anteater" after the Cape of Good Hope. Aardvarks are afrotheres, a clade which also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes. The animal is listed as "least concern" by the IUCN, although its numbers are decreasing. It also digs to create burrows in which to live and rear its young. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. The aardvark is found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long snout, similar to that of a pig, which is used to sniff out food. ![]() It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. The aardvark ( / ˈ ɑːr d v ɑːr k/ ARD-vark Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa.
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