Aardwolf
Insectivorous African mammal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus[3]) is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch.[4][5] It is also called the maanhaar-jackal[6][7] (Afrikaans for "mane-jackal"), termite-eating hyena[8] and civet hyena, based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland, a characteristic shared with the African civet.[9]
Aardwolf Temporal range: Pleistocene – Recent | |
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An aardwolf in Namib-Nord, Namibia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Hyaenidae |
Subfamily: | Protelinae |
Genus: | Proteles |
Species: | P. cristatus |
Binomial name | |
Proteles cristatus (Sparrman, 1783) | |
Aardwolf range
Extant (resident) | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Synonymy
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Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. It eats insects and their larvae,[10] mainly termites; one aardwolf can lap up as many as 300,000 termites during a single night[11] using its long, sticky tongue. The aardwolf's tongue has adapted to be tough enough to withstand the strong bite of termites.[12]
The aardwolf lives in the shrublands of eastern and southern Africa – open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs. It is nocturnal, resting in burrows during the day and emerging at night to seek food.