Orycteropus afer (Pallas 1766) is the living aardvark, a nocturnal burrowing mammal traditionally considered the only member of the order Tubulidentata. Here Orycteropus nests with the armadillo, Dasypus within the Xenarthra, derived from a sister to Early Eocene Alocodontullum (above). Ancestral aardvarks extend to the Oligocene. They feed only on termites and ants, relying on a keen sense of smell to find them. |
