Aardvark

The aardvark ( ; Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. The aardvark is the only living member of the genus Orycteropus, the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata. The aardvark is an afrotherian, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes. It is found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, the aardvark subsists on ants and termites (myrmecophagy) by using its sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills, and its long snout to sniff out food. It digs a burrow in which to live and rear its young. == Name and taxonomy == === Name === The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters), or the "Cape anteater". The name aardvark is Afrikaans (pronounced [ˈɑːrtfark]) and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark. It means 'earth pig' or 'ground pig' (aarde: 'earth', vark: 'pig, young pig'), because of its burrowing habits. The name Orycteropus means 'burrowing foot', and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvark's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style…