Introduction
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a burrowing quadruped nocturnal mammal that can be found across sub-Saharan Africa. People often mistakenly identify aardvarks as anteaters, and while ants are a primary part of their diet, aardvarks are a different taxonomic grouping and the only extant species in the order Tubulidentata. Aardvarks are an extremely reclusive species and are rarely observed in the wild. African folklore states that sighting an aardvark twice in your lifetime will lead to a long and happy existence (Knothig 2005).
The name aardvark originates from “aarde” meaning earth and “vark” meaning pig. The name is derived from the Afrikaans language, a language derived from Dutch. The scientific name Orycteropus afer is derived from Greek and can roughly be translated to “digger foot of Africa.”
Description
Aardvarks have large bodies with elongated heads and very small necks. They are nocturnal animals that live in dug burrows...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Brewer, D. (2003). Aardvarks. In Mammals (1-59084-467-X) (p. 12). Mason Crest Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=f5h&AN=9385417&site=eds-live&custid=magn1307
Goldman, C. A. (2007, December 18). A review of the management of the Aardvark: In captivity. Retrieved from https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1985.tb02556.x
Knothig, J. (2005). Biology of the aardvark. Retrieved October 2, 2018, from https://www.zuriorphanage.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Biology-of-the-Aardvark-by-Joachim-Knothig.pdf
Melton, D. A. (2008, April 10). The biology of aardvark (Tubulidentata-orycteropodidae). Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1976.tb00204.x
Whittington-Jones, G. M., Bernard, R. T. F., & Parker, D. M. (2011). Aardvark burrows: A potential resource for animals in arid and semi-arid environments. African Zoology, 46(2), 362–370. https://doi.org/10.3377/004.046.0215.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ferrell, B., Evans, K.O. (2019). Aardvark. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_838-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_838-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences