Aardwolf

species of mammal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aardwolf

The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a small, insectivorous mammal, native to East Africa and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth wolf" in the Afrikaans / Dutch language. It is also called "maanhaar jackal" in Afrikaans,[2] or civet hyena, based on the secretions (civet) from their anal glands.[3]

Quick Facts Aardwolf Temporal range: Pleistocene – Recent, Conservation status ...
Aardwolf
Temporal range: PleistoceneRecent
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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. cristata
Binomial name
Proteles cristata
Sparrman, 1783
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Aardwolf range
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The aardwolf is in the same family as the hyenas. Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals, or even eat meat on a regular basis; instead it eats insects, mainly termites – one aardwolf can eat about 250,000 termites during a single night by using its long, sticky tongue to capture them.[4][5]

The aardwolf lives in the scrublands of eastern and southern Africa – these are open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs. The aardwolf is nocturnal, resting in burrows during the day and coming out at night to eat.

Anal gland scent-marking plays an important role in mating-season in both sexes as it is the primary communication method.[6]

References

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