Aardvark
Aardvark Temporal range:
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Aardvark in theBushveld,Limpopo | |
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AtRoyal Burgers' Zoo,Arnhem, Netherlands | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Tubulidentata |
Family: | Orycteropodidae |
Genus: | Orycteropus |
Species: | O. afer
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Binomial name | |
Orycteropus afer (Pallas,1766)
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Subspecies | |
See text | |
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Aardvark range |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Aardvark_Skeleton.jpg/220px-Aardvark_Skeleton.jpg)
Aardvarks(/ˈɑːrdvɑːrk/ARD-vark;Orycteropus afer) are medium-sized, burrowing,nocturnalmammals native to Africa.[2][3]They have a long snout, similar to that of a pig, which is used to sniff out food.
Aardvarks are the only livingspeciesof the orderTubulidentata,[4][5]although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. They areafrotheres,acladethat also includeselephants,manatees,andhyraxes.
They are found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Nocturnal feeders, aardvarks subsist on ants and termites by using their sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills. Aardvarks also dig to create burrows in which to live and rear their young.
Aardvarks are listed as "least concern" by theIUCN,although their numbers are decreasing.
Name and taxonomy
Name
The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear",[6]"anteater" (not to be confused with theSouth American anteaters), or the "Cape anteater"[6]after theCape of Good Hope.
The name "aardvark" isAfrikaans(pronounced[ˈɑːrtfark]) and comes from earlier Afrikaanserdvark.[6]It means "earthpig"or" ground pig "(aarde:'earth',vark:'pig, young pig'), because of its burrowing habits.[7][8][9]
The nameOrycteropusmeans "burrowing foot", and the nameaferrefers to Africa.[10]The name of the aardvark's order,Tubulidentata,comes from the tubule-style teeth.[11]
Taxonomy
The aardvark is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole extant representative of the obscure mammalianorderTubulidentata,[10]in which it is usually considered to form one variable species of the genusOrycteropus,the sole surviving genus in the familyOrycteropodidae.The aardvark is not closely related to theSouth Americananteater,despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance.[12]The similarities are the outcome ofconvergent evolution.[13]The closest living relatives of the aardvark are theelephant shrews,tenrecidae,andgolden moles.[14]Along withsirenians,hyraxes,elephants,[15]and their extinct relatives, these animals form the superorderAfrotheria.[16]Studies of the brain have shown the similarities withCondylarthra.[13]
Evolutionary history
Based on his study of fossils,Bryan Pattersonhas concluded that early relatives of the aardvark appeared inAfricaaround the end of thePaleocene.[13][17]Theptolemaiidans,a mysterious clade of mammals with uncertain affinities, may actually be stem-aardvarks, either as a sister clade toTubulidentataor as a grade leading to true tubulidentates.[18][19]
The first unambiguous tubulidentate was probablyMyorycteropus africanusfromKenyanMiocenedeposits.[13]The earliest example from the genusOrycteropuswasOrycteropus mauritanicus,found inAlgeriain deposits from the middle Miocene, with an equally old version found in Kenya.[13]Fossils from the aardvark have been dated to 5 million years, and have been located throughoutEuropeand theNear East.[13]
The mysterious PleistocenePlesiorycteropusfromMadagascarwas originally thought to be a tubulidentate that was descended from ancestors that entered the island during theEocene.However, a number of subtle anatomical differences coupled with recent molecular evidence now lead researchers to believe thatPlesiorycteropusis a relative of golden moles andtenrecsthat achieved an aardvark-like appearance and ecological niche through convergent evolution.[20]
Subspecies
The aardvark has seventeen poorly defined subspecies listed:[4]
- Orycteropus afer afer(Southern aardvark)
- O. a. adametziGrote, 1921(Western aardvark)
- O. a. aethiopicusSundevall,1843
- O. a. angolensisZukowsky &Haltenorth,1957
- O. a. erikssoniLönnberg,1906
- O. a. faradjiusHatt, 1932
- O. a. haussanusMatschie,1900
- O. a. kordofanicusRothschild,1927
- O. a. lademanniGrote, 1911
- O. a. leptodonHirst, 1906
- O. a. matschieiGrote, 1921
- O. a. observandusGrote, 1921
- O. a. ruvanensisGrote, 1921
- O. a. senegalensisLesson,1840
- O. a. somalicusLydekker,1908
- O. a. wardiLydekker, 1908
- O. a. wertheriMatschie, 1898(Eastern aardvark)
The1911 Encyclopædia Britannicaalso mentionsO. a. capensisor Cape ant-bear from South Africa.[21]
Description
The aardvark is vaguely pig-like in appearance. Its body is stout with a prominently arched back[22]and is sparsely covered with coarse hairs. The limbs are of moderate length, with the rear legs being longer than the forelegs.[16]The front feet have lost the pollex (or 'thumb'), resulting in four toes, while the rear feet have all five toes. Each toe bears a large, robustnailwhich is somewhat flattened and shovel-like, and appears to be intermediate between aclawand a hoof. Whereas the aardvark is considereddigitigrade,it appears at times to beplantigrade.This confusion happens because when it squats it stands on its soles.[22]A contributing characteristic to the burrow digging capabilities of aardvarks is an endosteal tissue called compacted coarse cancellous bone (CCCB). The stress and strain resistance provided by CCCB allows aardvarks to create their burrows, ultimately leading to a favourable environment for plants and a variety of animals.[23][24]
An aardvark's weight is typically between 60 and 80 kilograms (130–180 lb).[16]An aardvark's length is usually between 105 and 130 centimetres (3.44–4.27 ft),[5]and can reach lengths of 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) when its tail (which can be up to 70 centimetres (28 in)) is taken into account. It is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall at the shoulder, and has a girth of about 100 centimetres (3.3 ft).[22]It is thelargestmember of the proposed cladeAfroinsectiphilia.The aardvark is pale yellowish-grey in colour and often stained reddish-brown bysoil.The aardvark's coat is thin, and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin. Its hair is short on its head and tail; however its legs tend to have longer hair.[5]The hair on the majority of its body is grouped in clusters of 3–4 hairs.[22]The hair surrounding its nostrils is dense to help filter particulate matter out as it digs. Its tail is very thick at the base and gradually tapers.
Head
The greatly elongated head is set on a short, thick neck, and the end of the snout bears a disc, which houses the nostrils. It contains a thin but completezygomatic arch.[22]The head of the aardvark contains many unique and different features. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Tubulidentata is theirteeth.Instead of having apulp cavity,each tooth has a cluster of thin, hexagonal, upright, parallel tubes of vasodentin (a modified form ofdentine), with individual pulp canals, held together bycementum.[16]The number of columns is dependent on the size of the tooth, with the largest having about 1,500.[13]The teeth have noenamelcoating and are worn away and regrow continuously.[11]The aardvark is born with conventional incisors andcaninesat the front of the jaw, which fall out and are not replaced. Adult aardvarks have only cheek teeth at the back of thejaw,and have adental formulaof:0.0.2-3.30.0.2.3These remaining teeth are peg-like and rootless and are of unique composition.[25]The teeth consist of 14 upper and 12 lower jaw molars.[6]The nasal area of the aardvark is another unique area, as it contains tennasal conchae,more than any other placental mammal.[16]
The sides of the nostrils are thick with hair.[22]The tip of the snout is highly mobile and is moved by modifiedmimetic muscles.[16]The fleshy dividing tissue between its nostrils probably has sensory functions,[5]but it is uncertain whether they are olfactory or vibratory in nature.[26]Its nose is made up of moreturbinatebones than any other mammal, with between 9 and 11, compared to dogs with 4 to 5.[11]With a large quantity of turbinate bones, the aardvark has more space for the moistepithelium,which is the location of the olfactory bulb.[11]The nose contains nineolfactory bulbs,more than any other mammal.[22]Its keen sense of smell is not just from the quantity of bulbs in the nose but also in the development of the brain, as itsolfactory lobeis very developed.[13]The snout resembles an elongated pig snout. The mouth is small and tubular, typical of species that feed onantsandtermites.The aardvark has a long, thin, snakelike, protruding tongue (as much as 30 centimetres (12 in) long)[6]and elaborate structures supporting a keensense of smell.[27]The ears, which are very effective,[6]are disproportionately long, about 20–25 centimetres (7.9–9.8 in) long.[22]The eyes are small for its head, and consist only ofrods.[22]
Digestive system
The aardvark's stomach has a muscularpyloricarea that acts as agizzardto grind swallowed food up, thereby rendering chewing unnecessary.[5]Itscecumis large.[16]Both sexes emit a strong smelling secretion from an anal gland.[5]Itssalivary glandsare highly developed and almost completely ring the neck;[16]their output is what causes the tongue to maintain its tackiness.[22]The female has two pairs ofteatsin the inguinal region.[16]
Geneticallyspeaking, the aardvark is aliving fossil,as itschromosomesare highly conserved, reflecting much of the earlyeutherianarrangement before the divergence of the major moderntaxa.[28]
Habitat and range
Aardvarks are found insub-Saharan Africa,where suitablehabitat(savannas,grasslands,woodlandsandbushland) and food (i.e.,antsandtermites) is available.[12]They spend the daylight hours in dark burrows to avoid the heat of the day.[29]The only major habitat that they are not present in is swamp forest, as the high water table precludes digging to a sufficient depth.[1]They also avoid terrain rocky enough to cause problems with digging.[30]They have been documented as high as 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in Ethiopia. They are present throughout sub-Saharan Africa all the way to South Africa with few exceptions including the coastal areas ofNamibia,Ivory Coast,andGhana.They are not found in Madagascar.[1]
Ecology and behaviour
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Aardvarks live for up to 23 years incaptivity.[16]Its keen hearing warns it of predators:lions,leopards,cheetahs,African wild dogs,hyenas,andPython s.[6][26]Some humans also hunt aardvarks for meat.[6]Aardvarks can dig fast or run in zigzag fashion to elude enemies, but if all else fails, they will strike with their claws, tail and shoulders, sometimes flipping onto their backs lying motionless except to lash out with all four feet.[26]They are capable of causing substantial damage to unprotected areas of an attacker.[11]They will also dig to escape as they can. Sometimes, when pressed, aardvarks can dig extremely quickly.[26]
Feeding
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Southern_Aardvark_1.jpg/220px-Southern_Aardvark_1.jpg)
The aardvark isnocturnaland is a solitary creature that feeds almost exclusively onantsandtermites(myrmecophagy);[5]the only fruit eaten by aardvarks is theaardvark cucumber.[26]In fact, the cucumber and the aardvark have a symbiotic relationship as they eat the subterranean fruit, then defecate the seeds near their burrows, which then grow rapidly due to the loose soil and fertile nature of the area. The time spent in the intestine of the aardvark helps the fertility of the seed, and the fruit provides needed moisture for the aardvark.[11][26]They avoid eating the Africandriver antand red ants.[31]Due to their stringent diet requirements, they require a large range to survive.[30]An aardvark emerges from its burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset, and forages over a considerable home range encompassing 10 to 30 kilometres (6.2 to 18.6 mi). While foraging for food, the aardvark will keep its nose to the ground and its ears pointed forward, which indicates that both smell and hearing are involved in the search for food. They zig-zag as they forage and will usually not repeat a route for 5–8 days as they appear to allow time for the termite nests to recover before feeding on it again.[31]
During a foraging period, they will stop to dig a V-shaped trench with their forefeet and then sniff it profusely as a means to explore their location.[5]When a concentration of ants or termites is detected, the aardvark digs into it with its powerful front legs, keeping its long ears upright to listen for predators, and takes up an astonishing number ofinsectswith its long, sticky tongue—as many as 50,000 in one night have been recorded. Its claws enable it to dig through the extremely hard crust of a termite or ant mound quickly. It avoids inhaling the dust by sealing the nostrils.[29]When successful, the aardvark's long (up to 30 centimetres (12 in))[2]tongue licks up the insects; the termites' biting, or the ants' stinging attacks are rendered futile by the tough skin. After an aardvark visit at a termite mound, other animals will visit to pick up all the leftovers.[32]Termite mounds alone do not provide enough food for the aardvark, so they look for termites that are on the move. When these insects move, they can form columns 10–40 metres (33–131 ft) long and these tend to provide easy pickings with little effort exerted by the aardvark. These columns are more common in areas of livestock or other hoofed animals.[32]The trampled grass and dung attract termites from theOdontotermes,Microtermes,andPseudacanthotermesgenera.[32]
On a nightly basis they tend to be more active during the first portion of night (roughly the four hours between 8:00p.m. and 12:00a.m.); however, they do not seem to prefer bright or dark nights over the other. During adverse weather or if disturbed they will retreat to their burrow systems. They cover between 2 and 5 kilometres (1.2 and 3.1 mi) per night; however, some studies have shown that they may traverse as far as 30 kilometres (19 mi) in a night.[5]
Aardvarks shift their circadian rhythms to more diurnal activity patterns in response to a reduced food supply. This survival tactic may signify an increased risk of imminent mortality.[33]
Vocalisation
The aardvark is a rather quiet animal. However, it does make soft grunting sounds as it forages and loud grunts as it makes for its tunnel entrance.[30]It makes a bleating sound if frightened.[31]When it is threatened it will make for one of its burrows. If one is not close it will dig a new one rapidly. This new one will be short and require the aardvark to back out when the coast is clear.[31]
Movement
The aardvark is known to be a good swimmer and has been witnessed successfully swimming in strong currents.[31]It can dig a yard of tunnel in about five minutes,[30]but otherwise moves fairly slowly.
When leaving the burrow at night, they pause at the entrance for about ten minutes, sniffing and listening. After this period of watchfulness, it will bound out and within seconds it will be 10 metres (33 ft) away. It will then pause, prick its ears, twisting its head to listen, then jump and move off to start foraging.[30]
Aside from digging out ants and termites, the aardvark alsoexcavatesburrows in which to live, which generally fall into one of three categories: burrows made while foraging, refuge and resting location, and permanent homes.[5]Temporary sites are scattered around the home range and are used as refuges, while the mainburrowis also used for breeding. Main burrows can be deep and extensive, have several entrances and can be as long as 13 metres (43 ft).[5]These burrows can be large enough for a person to enter.[6]The aardvark changes the layout of its home burrow regularly, and periodically moves on and makes a new one. The old burrows are an important part of the African wildlife scene. As they are vacated, then they are inhabited by smaller animals like theAfrican wild dog,ant-eating chat,Nycteris thebaicaandwarthogs.[31]Other animals that use them are hares, mongooses, hyenas, owls, Python s, and lizards. Without these refuges many animals would die during wildfire season.[31]Only mothers and young share burrows; however, the aardvark is known to live in small family groups or as a solitary creature.[6]If attacked in the tunnel, it will escape by digging out of the tunnel thereby placing the fresh fill between it and its predator, or if it decides to fight it will roll onto its back, and attack with its claws.[6]The aardvark has been known to sleep in a recently excavatedantnest, which also serves as protection from itspredators.[34]
Reproduction
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Aardvarks.jpg/220px-Aardvarks.jpg)
Aardvarks pair only during the breeding season; after agestationperiod of seven months,[5]one cub weighing around 1.7–1.9 kilograms (3.7–4.2 lb)[16]is born during May–July.[6]When born, the young has flaccid ears and many wrinkles. When nursing, it will nurse off each teat in succession.[26]After two weeks, the folds of skin disappear and after three, the ears can be held upright.[26]After 5–6 weeks, body hair starts growing.[26]It is able to leave the burrow to accompany its mother after only two weeks and eats termites at 9 weeks,[26]and is weaned between three months[16]and 16 weeks.[5]At six months of age, it is able to dig its own burrows, but it will often remain with the mother until the nextmating season,[5]and is sexually mature from approximately two years of age.[16]
Conservation
Aardvarks were thought to have declining numbers,[6]however, this is possibly because they are not readily seen.[1]There are no definitive counts because of their nocturnal and secretive habits; however, their numbers seem to be stable overall. They are not considered common anywhere in Africa, but due to their large range, they maintain sufficient numbers. There may be a slight decrease in numbers in eastern, northern, and western Africa. Southern African numbers are not decreasing. It has received an official designation from the IUCN asleast concern.[1]However, they are a species in a precarious situation, as they are so dependent on such specific food; therefore if a problem arises with the abundance of termites, the species as a whole would be affected drastically.[5]
Recent research suggests that aardvarks may be particularly vulnerable to alterations in temperature caused by climate change.Droughtsnegatively impact the availability of termites and ants, which comprise the bulk of an aardvark's diet.[35]Nocturnal species faced with resource scarcity may increase their diurnal activity to spare the energy costs of staying warm at night, but this comes at the cost of withstanding high temperatures during the day. A study on aardvarks in theKalahari Desertsaw that five out of six aardvarks being studied perished following a drought.[36]Aardvarks that survive droughts can take long periods of time to regain health and optimal thermoregulatory physiology, reducing the reproductive potential of the species.
Aardvarks handle captivity well. The first zoo to have one wasLondon Zooin 1869, which had an animal fromSouth Africa.[26]
Mythology and popular culture
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2020) |
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InAfrican folklore,the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response tosoldier ants.Hausamagicians make a charm from the heart, skin, forehead, and nails of the aardvark, which they then proceed to pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest, the charm is said to give the owner the ability to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is said to be used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents' permission.[37]Also, some tribes, such as theMargbetu,Ayanda,andLogo,[5]will use aardvark teeth to make bracelets, which are regarded as good luck charms.[6]The meat, which has a resemblance to pork, is eaten in certain cultures.[5]In the mythology of theDagbonpeople of Ghana, the aardvark is believed to possess superpowers.[38]TheDagombasbelieve this animal can transfigure into and interact with humans.
The ancientEgyptian godSetis usually depicted with the head of anunidentified animal,whose similarity to an aardvark has been noted in scholarship.[39]
Thetitular characterand his families fromArthur,an animated television series for children based on a book series and produced byWGBH,shown in more than 180 countries, is an aardvark.[40]In the first book of the series,Arthur's Nose(1976), he has a long, aardvark-like nose,[41]but in later books, his face becomes more rounded.[42]
Otis the Aardvarkwas a puppet character used onChildren's BBCprogramming.
An aardvark features as the antagonist in the cartoonThe Ant and the Aardvarkas well as in the Canadian animated seriesThe Raccoons.
The supersonic fighter-bomberF-111/FB-111was nicknamed the Aardvark because of its long nose resembling the animal. It also had similarities with its nocturnal missions flown at a very low level employing ordnance that could penetrate deep into the ground. In the US Navy, the squadronVF-114was nicknamed the Aardvarks, flyingF-4sand thenF-14s.The squadron mascot was adapted from the animal in the comic stripB.C.,which the F-4 was said to resemble.
Cerebus the Aardvarkis a 300-issue comic book series by Dave Sim.
Footnotes
- ^abcdeTaylor, A.; Lehmann, T. (2015)."Orycteropus afer".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2015:e.T41504A21286437.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41504A21286437.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^abHoiberg 2010,pp. 3–4
- ^"Aardvark, n."Dictionary of South African English.Dictionary Unit for South African English, 2018. 26 February 2019.
- ^abSchlitter 2005,p. 86
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqvan Aarde 1984,pp. 466–467
- ^abcdefghijklmnGoodwin 1997,pp. 2–3
- ^Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2010
- ^"aardvark".Oxford English Dictionary(Online ed.).Oxford University Press.March 2018.Retrieved24 May2018.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)
- ^"aardvark".Dictionary of South African English.Dictionary Unit for South African English. 2018.Retrieved25 February2019.
- ^abShoshani 2002,p. 618
- ^abcdefShoshani 2002,p. 619
- ^abAfrican Wildlife Foundation 2013
- ^abcdefghRahm 1990,pp. 453–454
- ^Asher, Bennett & Lehmann 2009,p. 854
- ^Rodriguez 2013,p. 6
- ^abcdefghijklmRahm 1990,pp. 450–451
- ^Shoshani 2002,p. 620
- ^Cote S, Werdelin L, Seiffert ER, Barry JC (March 2007)."Additional material of the Enigma tic Early Miocene mammalKelbaand its relationship to the order Ptolemaiida ".Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.104(13): 5510–5.Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.5510C.doi:10.1073/pnas.0700441104.PMC1838468.PMID17372202.
- ^Seiffert, Erik R (2007)."A new estimate of afrotherian phylogeny based on simultaneous analysis of genomic, morphological, and fossil evidence".BMC Evolutionary Biology.7(1): 224.doi:10.1186/1471-2148-7-224.PMC2248600.PMID17999766.
- ^Buckley, Michael (2013)."A Molecular Phylogeny of Plesiorycteropus Reassigns the Extinct Mammalian Order 'Bibymalagasia'".PLOS ONE.8(3): e59614.Bibcode:2013PLoSO...859614B.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059614.PMC3608660.PMID23555726.
- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). .Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 2.
- ^abcdefghijRahm 1990,p. 452
- ^Legendre, Lucas J.; Botha-Brink, Jennifer (11 July 2018)."Digging the compromise: investigating the link between limb bone histology and fossoriality in the aardvark (Orycteropus afer)".PeerJ.6:e5216.doi:10.7717/peerj.5216.PMC6045922.PMID30018860.
- ^Haussmann, Natalie S.; Louw, Michelle A.; Lewis, Simone; Nicol, Keegan J. H.; van der Merwe, Stephni; le Roux, Peter C. (1 August 2018). "Ecosystem engineering through aardvark (Orycteropus afer) burrowing: Mechanisms and effects".Ecological Engineering.118:66–72.doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.04.022.hdl:2263/65084.S2CID104179393.
- ^Martin 1983,p. 377
- ^abcdefghijkRahm 1990,p. 458
- ^Taylor & Skinner 2004,p. 106
- ^Anon 2003
- ^abAnon 2013
- ^abcdeRahm 1990,p. 455
- ^abcdefgRahm 1990,p. 456
- ^abcRahm 1990,p. 457
- ^Weyer, Nora Marie; Fuller, Andrea; Haw, Anna Jean; Meyer, Leith Carl Rodney; Mitchell, Duncan; Picker, Mike; Rey, Benjamin; Hetem, Robyn Sheila (2020)."Increased Diurnal Activity Is Indicative of Energy Deficit in a Nocturnal Mammal, the Aardvark".Frontiers in Physiology.11:637.doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.00637.ISSN1664-042X.PMC7358442.PMID32733261.
- ^Anon 2013a
- ^Melton, Derek A. (June 1976)."The biology of aardvark (Tubulidentata-Orycteropodidae)".Mammal Review.6(2): 75–88.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1976.tb00204.x.ISSN0305-1838.
- ^Rey, Benjamin; Fuller, Andrea; Mitchell, Duncan; Meyer, Leith C. R.; Hetem, Robyn S. (31 July 2017)."Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change".Biology Letters.13(7): 20170301.doi:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0301.PMC5543026.PMID28724691.
- ^Rebecca 2007
- ^Blench, Roger."Aardvarks go shopping: Dagomba concepts of living things".
- ^te Velde 1997,p. 13
- ^WGBH 2013
- ^Arthur's Nose,Thriftbooks; accessed 2020.09.29.
- ^Arthur's Eyes,Thriftbooks; accesses 2020.09.29.
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External links
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- IUCN/SSC Afrotheria Specialist Group
- A YouTube video introducing the Bronx Zoo's aardvarks
- "The Biology of the Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) "a diploma thesis (without images)
- "The Biology of the Aardvark" (Orycteropus afer) "the thesis with images
Texts on Wikisource:
- Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. I (9th ed.). 1878. p. 3. .
- "The Aard-Vark or Earth-Hog"inPopular Science Monthly,Vol. 14 (March 1879)
- "Aardvark".The New Student's Reference Work.1914.
- "Aard-vark".Collier's New Encyclopedia.1921.