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Myrmecophaga (giant anteater)
Taxonomy
Myrmecophaga was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant. It is the type genus of Myrmecophagidae.
It was assigned to Bruta by Linnaeus (1758); to Myrmecophagina by Gray (1825); to Myrmecophaginae by Gaudin and Branham (1998); and to Myrmecophagidae by Carroll (1988), Salles et al. (2006) and McDonald et al. (2008).
It was assigned to Bruta by Linnaeus (1758); to Myrmecophagina by Gray (1825); to Myrmecophaginae by Gaudin and Branham (1998); and to Myrmecophagidae by Carroll (1988), Salles et al. (2006) and McDonald et al. (2008).
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1758 | Myrmecophaga Linnaeus p. 35 |
| 1825 | Myrmecophagus Gray p. 343 |
| 1900 | Falcifer Rehn |
| 1934 | Nunezia Kraglievich |
| 1988 | Myrmecophaga Carroll |
| 1998 | Myrmecophaga Gaudin and Branham |
| 2006 | Myrmecophaga Salles et al. p. 7 |
| 2008 | Myrmecophaga McDonald et al. |
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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.
G. Myrmecophaga Linnaeus 1758 [giant anteater]
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Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus 1758 [giant anteater]
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Invalid names: Myrmecophaga centralis Lyon 1906 [synonym], Myrmecophaga jubata Linnaeus 1766 [synonym]
Invalid names: Falcifer Rehn 1900 [synonym], Nunezia Kraglievich 1934 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Body mass estimates
| estimate | equation | reference |
|---|---|---|
| 44.1 kg | Mammalia femur diameter | Gingerich 1990 |
| 34.7 kg | Mammalia humerus diameter | Gingerich 1990 |
| 40.3 kg | Mammalia tibia diameter | Gingerich 1990 |
| mean: 39.5 kg | ||
Measurements
| part | N | mean | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| femur diameter | 1 | 20.1 | |||||
| humerus diameter | 1 | 19.2 | |||||
| radius diameter | 1 | 20.0 | |||||
| tibia diameter | 1 | 18.7 |
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Ji et al. 2002, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1991, Lillegraven 1979 | |||||
Age range
Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Blancan to the top of the Holocene or 4.90000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 3.8 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 3.8 Ma
Collections (9 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montehermosan | Argentina (Buenos Aires) | Myrmecophaga caroloameghinoi, Nunezia caroloameghinoi (198863) Myrmecophaga sp. (199153) Nunezia caroloameghinoi (13503) | |
| Blancan | Mexico (Sonora) | Myrmecophaga tridactyla (20322) | |
| Late/Upper Pliocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene | Venezuela (Monagas) | Myrmecophaga sp. (144977) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene | Brazil (Bahia) | Myrmecophaga tridactyla (71313) | |
| Holocene | Peru | Myrmecophaga tridactyla (21689) | |
| Holocene | Brazil (Districto Agropecura) | Myrmecophaga tridactyla (21687) | |
| Holocene | Venezuela (Guarico) | Myrmecophaga tridactyla (21686) |