---
title: "What the sources say about the Aardvark | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "40 claims from the Aardvark profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/aardvark/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Aardvark (*Orycteropus afer*)

> 40 claims from the Aardvark profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Aardvark](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/aardvark/)

## Taylor & Lehmann (2015). Orycteropus afer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T41504A21286437.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-2.rlts.t41504a21286437.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus) |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Orycteropus afer (aardvark). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Orycteropus_afer/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A night-shift digger with spade-like claws and a sticky tongue, built to mine ant and termite nests. | each ending in a spade-like claw that helps them to dig with great speed and force (note: tagline; sticky tongue and ants and termites are claimed below) |
| Grassland and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa, except the West and Central rain forests | Aardvarks are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, except for the West and Central rain forest regions. ... Aardvarks occupy grassland and savanna habitats in sub-Saharan Africa (note: stats.habitat) |
| Ants and termites, mostly ants | they specialize on ants and termites, with the majority of their diet being ants (note: stats.diet) |
| Spade-like claws that dig with great speed and force | each ending in a spade-like claw that helps them to dig with great speed and force (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its job is simple: dig up ants and termites | they specialize on ants and termites, with the majority of their diet being ants |
| Each toe ends in a spade-like claw that helps it dig with great speed and force | Aardvarks have 4 toes on the forefeet and 5 toes on the hind feet, each ending in a spade-like claw that helps them to dig with great speed and force. |
| Its long, sticky tongue sweeps the insects into a small mouth | The ants and termites are swept into their small mouth with their long, sticky tongue. |
| it swallows with little or no chewing | Aardvarks swallow without chewing their food, or after chewing their food very little. |
| Aardvarks have peg-like back teeth and no incisors or canines | Aardvarks have peg-like molars and premolars, but no incisors or canines |
| Their teeth lack enamel, the hard outer coating on a tooth, and are made of densely packed tubules instead | Their teeth lack enamel and are made up of densely packed tubules (note: the gloss on enamel is a definition, not a claim about the aardvark) |
| It is the size of a small pig, with very thick skin | Aardvarks are the size of small pigs, but have very thick skin |
| Aardvarks forage at night, covering 2 to 5 km each time | Aardvarks forage at night, covering distances of 2 to 5 km each night. |
| Before setting off, an aardvark stops at its den opening to look for enemies, runs out, jumps around repeatedly, looks about, and then trots off | They first stop at the den opening to look for enemies, then run out, jump repeatedly, look around, and jump around more, before finally trotting off to forage. |
| Its retinas contain only rods, which allow it to see at night but leave it colorblind | Aardvarks have poor vision because their retinas contain only rods, which allow them to see at night, but leave them colorblind. |
| Its ears can move independently and fold shut while it tunnels | long ears that can be moved independently, as well as folded back and closed while tunneling |
| If a predator turns up, it tries to dig a hole to hide in | If confronted by a predator, an aardvark will attempt to dig a hole in which to hide |
| Failing that, it stands up on its hind legs and tail, or lies on its back, and defends itself with its large front claws | If it cannot dig a hole, it will stand upright on its hind legs and tail, or lay on its back, and defend itself with its large front claws. |
| Lions, hyenas and leopards are known to kill aardvarks | but lions, hyenas, and leopards are also known to kill them. |
| Aardvarks live across sub-Saharan Africa, except the West and Central rain forest regions | Aardvarks are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, except for the West and Central rain forest regions. |
| Their burrows can have eight or more entrances and reach as much as 6 meters underground | complex and intricate burrows, which can have eight or more entrances and extend as much as 6 meters underground |
| Hyenas, warthogs, squirrels, hedgehogs, mongooses and bats, as well as birds and reptiles, use the holes | the holes they dig are used by a variety of other animals for shelter. These include hyenas, warthogs, squirrels, hedgehogs, mongooses, and bats, as well as birds and reptiles. |
| An aardvark's teeth have no enamel and are made of densely packed tubules instead | Their teeth lack enamel and are made up of densely packed tubules (note: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "Their teeth lack enamel, the hard outer coating on a tooth, ") |

## AnAge entry for Orycteropus afer. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Orycteropus_afer

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A lifespan database records one captive aardvark that lived 29.8 years | Maximum longevity 29.8 years (captivity) |
| That is one captive animal, not a wild average | One captive specimen lived for 29.8 years |
| One young per litter, and a gestation of about 225 days | Gestation 225 days ... Litter size 1 (viviparous) |
| A newborn weighs around 1,800 g | Weight at birth 1,800 g |
| a female reaches sexual maturity at about 730 days | Female sexual maturity 730 days |

## Taylor, Lindsey & Skinner (2002). The feeding ecology of the aardvark Orycteropus afer. Journal of Arid Environments.

https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.2001.0854

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a study that radio-tagged thirteen aardvarks in the Nama Karoo, the diet consisted entirely of ants and termites, with ants leading in all seasons and years | Thirteen aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) were radio tagged at Tussen die Riviere Nature Reserve in the Nama Karoo between 1996 and 1998. Faecal contents were analysed and four habituated aardvarks closely followed to investigate feeding ecology. The diet of the aardvark consisted entirely of ants and termites, with ants predominating in all seasons and years. |
| In a Karoo study, the ant Anoplolepis custodiens was the main prey in every month, with the termite Trinervitermes trinervoides next | Anoplolepis custodiens was the most important prey species in all months, followed by Trinervitermes trinervoides. |
| Termites were eaten more often in winter than summer, when ant numbers were generally reduced | Termites were fed on more often in winter than summer at a time when ant numbers were generally reduced |

## Legendre & Botha-Brink (2018). Digging the compromise: investigating the link between limb bone histology and fossoriality in the aardvark (Orycteropus afer). PeerJ.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5216

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The aardvark is the largest living burrowing mammal, at about 1.4 to 2.2 m in total length and 40 to 100 kg | The largest extant fossorial mammal is the aardvark, Orycteropus afer ( Pallas, 1766 ), with a total body size ranging from 1.4 to 2.2 m, and a body mass from 40 to 100 kg |

## Weyer et al. (2020). Increased Diurnal Activity Is Indicative of Energy Deficit in a Nocturnal Mammal, the Aardvark. Frontiers in Physiology.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00637

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Aardvarks caught for a Kalahari study averaged 35 kg | Aardvark body mass during capture averaged 35 kg (range 26.5–43.0 kg). |
| Aardvarks caught for a Kalahari study | data loggers into 12 adult aardvarks and observed them for varying durations over 3 years in the Kalahari (note: study site of the 35 kg average) |
| Many animal species depend on those burrows for refuge | the many animal species dependent on aardvark burrows for refuge |

## Rey et al. (2017). Drought-induced starvation of aardvarks in the Kalahari: an indirect effect of climate change. Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2017.0301

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In the Kalahari, after a hot, dry summer, five of six aardvarks fitted with implanted loggers and 11 others at the site died | we implanted biologgers into six adult aardvarks resident in the semi-arid Kalahari. Following a particularly dry and hot summer, five of the study aardvarks and 11 other aardvarks at the study site died. |
| Their body temperatures fell as low as 25°C before death, likely due to starvation, and their activity shifted from night to day | declining troughs in the nychthemeral rhythm of body temperature reaching as low as 25°C before death, likely due to starvation. Activity patterns shifted from the normal nocturnal to a diurnal mode. |

## Arnason, Gullberg & Janke (1999). The mitochondrial DNA molecule of the aardvark, Orycteropus afer, and the position of the Tubulidentata in the eutherian tree. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0643

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| is the only living species of its whole order, Tubulidentata | the aardvark (Orycteropus afer), the only living species of the order Tubulidentata |

## Endo et al. (2003). Three-dimensional CT image analysis of the digging system in the aardvark. Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0940-9602(03)80063-8

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| CT scans of its paws led researchers to suggest that the two inner front toes crush the soil as they curl in, while the two outer toes sweep the loosened earth away | We suggest that the medial two digits in the forepaw directly contribute to the crushing, when these proximal phalanges crook in the phase of power stroke. In contrast the lateral third and fourth digits may act as sweeper of the crushed soil. |