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- The tongue is as long as two feet in length, but only a half-inch wide.
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The giant anteater is 182 to 217 cm (5 ft in to 7 ft in) in length, with weights of 33 to 50 kg (73 to 110 lb) for males and 27 to 47 kg (60 to 104 lb) for females. It is recognizable by its elongated snout, bushy tail, long fore claws, and distinctively colored pelage .
A giant anteater's tongue is 2 feet long and can flick in and out of its mouth 150 times per minute. It's coated in sticky saliva, which allows anteaters to slurp up ants and termites. Research has found that giant anteaters can identify a particular species of ant or termite by smell before they rip apart a nest.
Learn about the amazing adaptations of anteaters and how they use their tongues to catch insects in this fascinating article.
What is the giant anteater? Anteaters are edentate animals—they have no teeth. But their long tongues are more than sufficient to lap up the 35,000 ants and termites they swallow whole each day. As...
- Anteaters Are of the Same Order, Xenarthra, as Armadillos. "This order also includes sloths and armadillos," says Melissa Ciccariello, zookeeper in charge of anteaters for Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, via an email interview.
- They Don't Have the Longest Tongue of Any Animal. While the giant anteater's tongue is about 20 to 24 inches (51 to 61 centimeters) long, the blue whale has the largest tongue of any animal alive today, according to Schwartz.
- Anteaters Slip Their "Spaghetti-like" Tongue Into Ant Hills and Termite Mounds to Eat. "They use their claws to break open ant and termite mounds," says Ciccariello.
- An Anteater Will Eat up to 30,000 Ants or Termites a Day. "While anteaters will eat primarily ants and termites, it's not uncommon for them to enjoy fallen fruit," says Schwartz.
Giant anteaters do not have teeth; instead, they have tongues can reach as much as 610 mm (2 ft.) in length! As long as the tongue is, it is relatively narrow over the entirety of its length, with its widest point being only 10 to 15 mm (0.4 to 0.6 in.). They use this giant tongue to gather insects for food, extending it up to 150 times per minute.
Jan 17, 2018 · Length: 182 to 217 cm (5.97 to7.12 ft.) Head Length: 30 cm (12 in) Tongue Length: Up to 60 cm (24 in) Weight: (Male) 33 to41 kg (73 to 90 lb.); (Female) 27 to 39 kg (60 to 86 lb.) Conservation Status: Vulnerable.
