The silky anteater is the smallest living xenarthran, bearing a dense, wool‑silky coat ranging from pale silver‑grey to golden buff that camouflages among Cecropia seed tufts. Head–body length 17–27 cm with a 17–24 cm fully prehensile tail; mass 200–450 g. The head is short with a tapered, toothless muzzle and a 15‑cm extensile tongue. Forefeet have two greatly enlarged, recurved claws used to tear open ant nests; hind feet have four diminutive claws. Eyes are large and forward‑set, reflecting its strictly arboreal, nocturnal habits. Limbs rotate nearly 180° at the ankle, facilitating upside‑down locomotion along vines and thin branches. Neonates are born pink and nearly naked, gaining adult pelage within four weeks.
Head–body 17–27 cm; tail 17–24 cm
0.2–0.45 kg
≈ 9–12 yr wild; up to 16 yr captivity
Data deficient
Data deficient
≈ 12–15 mo
Aseasonal in Costa Rica; births cluster May–July (early wet season)
Number of Offspring per Event: 1; litters ≈ once every 12–16 mo
The silky anteater is the smallest living xenarthran, bearing a dense, wool‑silky coat ranging from pale silver‑grey to golden buff that camouflages among Cecropia seed tufts. Head–body length 17–27 cm with a 17–24 cm fully prehensile tail; mass 200–450 g. The head is short with a tapered, toothless muzzle and a 15‑cm extensile tongue. Forefeet have two greatly enlarged, recurved claws used to tear open ant nests; hind feet have four diminutive claws. Eyes are large and forward‑set, reflecting its strictly arboreal, nocturnal habits. Limbs rotate nearly 180° at the ankle, facilitating upside‑down locomotion along vines and thin branches. Neonates are born pink and nearly naked, gaining adult pelage within four weeks.
Specialized myrmecophage consuming 5 000–8 000 arboreal Camponotus and Azteca ants per night; minor intake of termites and stingless‑bee honey.
Possesses only two functional fingers per forefoot—the fewest of any mammal.
Each night travels < 200 m, spending 80 % of activity time stationary while foraging ant trails.
Fur contains air pockets, making individuals exceptionally buoyant when branches fall into water.
Emits a faint musky odor thought to deter arboreal predators such as arboreal boas.
Shares mutualistic “ant gardening” with Azteca ants: ants hollow Cecropia internodes that anteaters later exploit as day nests.
Shallow coral and rocky reefs, sand flats, seagrass beds and mangrove channels from intertidal pools to ≈ 70 m; in Costa Rica abundant around Isla del Caño, Golfo Dulce, Bahía Culebra, and Caribbean patch reefs of Cahuita.
Slender, oceanic requiem shark with a notably silky‑smooth skin created by densely packed dermal denticles. First dorsal fin moderately tall, origin behind pectoral free tips; second dorsal possesses a long free rear tip. Pectorals long, narrow, falcate. Snout long and rounded; eyes large with nictitating membranes. Colour uniform dark bronzy‑grey above, white below; no distinct fin markings except faint dusky tips in juveniles. Adults average 2.2–2.6 m TL (maximum 3.5 m) and 150‑170 kg. Teeth: upper narrow, serrated; lower slender, semi‑erect. Sexual dimorphism minimal—females slightly larger, males with claspers.