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Orycteropus afer (aardvark)

Mammalia - Tubulidentata - Orycteropodidae

Taxonomy
Myrmecophaga afra was named by Pallas (1766). It is extant.

It was recombined as Orycteropus afer by Geoffroy (1791), Pickford (1975), Peters (1990), Pickford (2005) and Lehmann (2007).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1766Myrmecophaga afra Pallas
1788Myrmecophaga capensis Gmelin
1791Orycteropus afer Geoffroy
1845Orycteropus senegalensis Schinz
1883Orycteropus capensis Giebel p. 511
1900Orycteropus haussanus Matschie
1900Orycteropus wertheri Matschie
1975Orycteropus afer Pickford p. 76
1990Orycteropus afer Peters p. 86
2005Orycteropus afer Pickford p. 719
2007Orycteropus afer Lehmann p. 182

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
RankNameAuthor
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—AfrotheriaStanhope et al. 1998
—Afroinsectiphilia
orderTubulidentataHuxley 1872
familyOrycteropodidae
subfamilyOrycteropodinaeGray 1821
genusOrycteropusGeoffroy 1791
speciesafer(Pallas 1766)

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Orycteropus afer Pallas 1766 [aardvark]
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Invalid names: Myrmecophaga capensis Gmelin 1788 [synonym], Orycteropus haussanus Matschie 1900 [synonym], Orycteropus senegalensis Schinz 1845 [synonym], Orycteropus wertheri Matschie 1900 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Body mass estimates
estimateequationreference
 59.4 kg Mammalia femur diameterGingerich 1990
 38.6 kg Mammalia humerus diameterGingerich 1990
 62.3 kg Mammalia tibia diameterGingerich 1990
mean: 52.3 kg
Measurements
partNmean
femur diameter122.4
humerus diameter120.0
radius diameter114.0
tibia diameter122.0

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: semifossorialg
Diet: insectivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2012-05-15 10:18:46
Modified: 2012-05-14 19:18:46
Source: g = genus, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Lehmann et al. 2005, Nowak 1991, Hendy et al. 2009, Lillegraven 1979, Ji et al. 2002, Carroll 1988

Age range: base of the Pliocene to the top of the Holocene or 5.33300 to 0.00000 Ma

Collections (27 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Miocene - Pliocene23.03 - 2.588South Africa Orycteropus sp. (22224 22232)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588South Africa Orycteropus afer (22356)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781South Africa Orycteropus afer (21824)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781South Africa (Gauteng) Orycteropus afer (183152)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Kenya Orycteropus afer (21963)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117South Africa Orycteropus afer (21828 21929 21956)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Zambia Orycteropus afer (21924)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Congo-Kinshasa Orycteropus afer (22074)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0South Africa Orycteropus afer (21957)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Kenya Orycteropus afer (21276 21277) Orycteropus sp. (22272)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Congo-Kinshasa Orycteropus afer (22066)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Kenya (Athi-Kapiti) Orycteropus afer (32119)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0South Africa Orycteropus afer (21922)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Congo-Kinshasa Orycteropus afer (22073)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa (Orange Free) Orycteropus afer (21912 21943)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa Orycteropus afer (21866 21921)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Sudan Orycteropus afer (21902 21958)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa (N. Transraal) Orycteropus afer (21693)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Tanzania Orycteropus afer (21690)