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Learn about the silky anteater, the smallest living anteater, and its distribution, habitat, diet, and reproduction. Find out how it defends itself from predators and what threats it faces in the wild.
Distribution and habitat. Silky anteaters are found from Oaxaca and southern Veracruz in Mexico, through Central America (except El Salvador), and south to Ecuador, and northern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. A distinct population is found in the northern Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Silky anteaters are also found on the island of Trinidad.
Apr 12, 2024 · The silky anteater is found from southern Mexico southward to Bolivia and Brazil. It is not rare but is difficult to spot because it is nocturnal and lives high in the trees. It is also exquisitely camouflaged, its silky yellowish coat matching both the colour and the texture of fibrous seed masses produced by the silk-cotton tree ( see kapok ).
- Tropical forests above 1,500m
- Central and South America
- 2 years
- 55-70cm long, including tail
- They’re the smallest anteater in the world. Silky anteaters are the tiniest anteater species in the world, which is why there are often referred to as the pygmy anteater.
- They’ve got no teeth! A silky anteater can cover some serious foraging ground in an evening. In the course of a single night’s forage, they can cross 38 trees and eat over 5,000 ants!
- They also have a taste for wasps. Silky anteaters also love to diet on wasps and wasp pupae. They will sneakily attack a wasp nest in the middle of the night, when wasps are sluggish and more defenceless.
- They’re not the only nocturnal, tree-dwelling anteater in town. Silky anteaters are arboreal, come out at night, and live in the same areas as their larger cousins the Tamanduas, who occupy a very similar niche.
Anteaters are found across Central America, usually in tropical savannahs and forests, spanning from southern Mexico to Paraguay and northern Argentina. It’s worth noting, though, that each species of anteater is found in a different habitat and area: The giant anteater inhabits forests, savannahs, and open grasslands.
Habitat. Cyclopes didactylus inhabits the tree Ceiba, which has large seed pods that contain masses of a silky silverish fiber. This serves as an excellent camouflage for this tiny anteater, because the sheen of the pods and the silky fur of the anteater are almost identical.
Also known as the two-toed, pygmy, or dwarf anteater, the silky anteater ( Cyclopes didactylus) is the smallest and least-known member of the family. The silky anteater is found from southern Mexico southward to Bolivia and Brazil. It is not rare but is difficult….
