The difference between pangolin and anteater

Pangolin is a general term for pangolin family. It lives in deciduous forests in subtropical regions. Anteaters are mammals of anteater family, distributed in America. They feed on ants, termites and other insects. Pangolin and anteaters have similar feeding habits. Let's take a look at their differences together.

Family and Genus Differences between Pangolin and Anteater

1. Pangolin: Pangolin is a terrestrial mammal in animal kingdom, chordate phylum, vertebrate phylum, mammal class, euthera, squamata, pangolin family.

2. Anteaters: Anteaters are mammals of the animal kingdom, chordate phylum, vertebrate phylum, mammal class, Trichophyta and anteater family.

Morphological differences between pangolin and anteater

1. Pangolin: Pangolin has a long and narrow body, scales all over the body, thick and short limbs, flat and long tail, slightly raised back, conical head, small eyes, sharp snout, long tongue, toothless, underdeveloped ears, 5 toes on feet, strong claws, long front claws, tile-shaped scales all over the body, from the top of the forehead to the back, the outer sides of the limbs, and the ventral surface of the back of the tail. Scales are arranged from the center of the back to both sides in a longitudinal row. Scales are black-brown and have very little hair.

2. Anteater: Anteater has a long pointed snout, a tubular mouth, a retractable tongue, and rich in mucus, suitable for licking insects, small and round ears, strong forelimbs, a particularly developed and sickle-shaped claw on the third finger, and claws on the 4-5 digits of the hind limbs. Skull slender and fragile, toothless.

Difference in distribution between pangolin and anteater

1. Pangolin: Pangolin lives in grass or moist hills and shrubs in foothills, digs holes to live, builds holes in soil areas, mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and some countries in Africa.

2. Anteaters: pygmy anteaters live in trees. Big anteaters mainly live in wet forests and swamps. Small anteaters hide in dense forests or hide in tree holes during the day and come out to feed at night. They often destroy ant nests with their forelimbs. They are mainly distributed in Central America and South America from the southernmost part of Mexico to Brazil and Paraguay.

Differences in feeding habits between pangolin and anteater

1. Pangolin: Its main food is termites. In addition, it also eats ants and their larvae, bees, wasps and other insect larvae. It eats a lot. The stomach of an adult pangolin can accommodate up to 500 grams of termites.

2. Anteaters: Anteaters eat ants, termites and other insects. Their tongues can stretch surprisingly to 60 cm long and can stretch and contract at a frequency of 150 times a minute. Their tongues are covered with small thorns and a large amount of mucus. Ants will not be able to escape after being stuck. They eat a lot and can eat ants weighing 454 grams at a time.