Silky anteater

{{Short description|Species of mammals related to sloths and armadillos}} {{redirect-distinguish|Cyclopes (genus)|Cyclope}} {{Speciesbox | name = Silky anteater<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Pilosa | id = 11800028 | page = 102 |heading=Species ''Cyclopes didactylus''}}</ref> | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Miranda, F. |author2=Meritt, D.A. |author3=Tirira, D.G. |author4=Arteaga, M. |date=2014 |title=''Cyclopes didactylus'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T6019A47440020 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T6019A47440020.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Silky Anteater.jpg | genus = Cyclopes | parent_authority = J. E. Gray, 1821 | species = didactylus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)<ref>{{cite book|last=Linnæus|first=Carl|title=Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I|year=1758|publisher=Laurentius Salvius|location=Holmiæ|page=35|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/80764#page/45/mode/1up|edition=10th|access-date=23 November 2012|language=la}}</ref> | synonyms= ''Myrmecophaga didactyla'' Linnaeus, 1758 | range_map = Pygmy Anteater area.png | range_map_caption = Silky anteater range }}

The '''silky anteater''', also known as the '''pygmy anteater''', has traditionally been considered a single species of anteater, '''''Cyclopes didactylus''''', in the genus '''''Cyclopes''''', the only living genus in the family Cyclopedidae. Found in southern Mexico, and Central and South America, it is the smallest of all known anteaters. It has nocturnal habits and appears to be completely arboreal; its hind feet are highly modified for climbing.

A taxonomic review in 2017, including both molecular and morphological evidence, found that ''Cyclopes'' may actually comprise at least seven species.<ref name="Miranda2017">{{Cite journal|last1= Miranda|first1=F.R.|last2= Casali|first2=D.M.|last3= Perini|first3=F.A.|last4= Machado|first4=F.A.|last5= Santos|first5=F.R.|title= Taxonomic review of the genus ''Cyclopes'' Gray, 1821 (Xenarthra: Pilosa), with the revalidation and description of new species|year= 2017|journal= Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume= 183|issue= 3|pages= 687–721|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321733059 |doi= 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx079|hdl= 11336/49474|hdl-access= free}}</ref> The only known extinct cyclopedid species is ''Palaeomyrmidon incomtus'', from the Late Miocene (c. 7 to 9 million years ago) of modern-day Argentina.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McDonald|first1=H. Gregory|last2=Vizcaíno|first2=Sergio Fabián|last3=Bargo|first3=M. Sazano|chapter=Skeletal anatomy and the fossil history of the Vermilingua|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257931184|title=The Biology of the Xenarthra|editor1-last=Vizcaino|editor1-first=Sergío Fabian|editor2-last=Loughry|editor2-first=William J.|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, FL|pages=64–78|isbn=978-0-8130-3165-1|year=2008}}</ref><ref name=Hayssen2012/>

==Etymology== The scientific name ''Cyclopes didactylus'' translates to "two-toed circle-foot", referencing the two claws present on the forefeet. Additionally, the name alludes to the toes' ability to nearly encircle a branch while clinging.{{cn|date=December 2025}}

==Description== Silky anteaters are the smallest extant anteaters and have proportionately shorter faces and larger crania than other species. Average adult length ranges from {{Convert|36|to|45|cm|abbr=on}}, including a tail {{convert|17|to|24|cm|abbr=on}} long, and weigh from {{convert|175|to|400|g|abbr=on}}. They have dense and soft fur, ranging from grey to yellowish in color, with a silvery sheen. Many subspecies have dark, often brownish, streaks and relatively paler underparts or limbs. Their eyes are black, while the foot soles are red.<ref name=Hayssen2012>{{cite journal | author = Hayssen, V.| year = 2012 | title = ''Cyclopes didactylus'' (Pilosa: Cyclopedidae) | journal = Mammalian Species | volume = 44 | issue = 1 | pages = 51–58 | doi = 10.1644/895.1|display-authors=etal| doi-access = free }}</ref>

The silky anteater possesses claws on the second and third toes of its forefeet, with the third toe being significantly larger. The fourth toe is small and clawless, while the remaining toes are vestigial or absent and not externally visible. On the hind feet, all four toes are of equal length and equipped with long claws, accompanied by a vestigial hallux that is not externally visible. The ribs are broad and flat, overlapping to form an internal armored casing that protects the chest.<ref name=Hayssen2012/>

The species also features partially prehensile tails, which further aid in their arboreal lifestyle.<ref name=Hayssen2012/>

==Distribution and habitat== Silky anteaters are found from Oaxaca and southern Veracruz in Mexico, through Central America (except El Salvador), and south to Ecuador, and northern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. A distinct population is found in the northern Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Silky anteaters are also found on the island of Trinidad. They inhabit a range of different forest types, including semi-deciduous, tropical evergreen, and mangrove forests, from sea level to {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

==Systematics== Silky anteaters form the sister clade to the myrmecophagid anteaters, together forming Vermilingua. Vermilingua is a sister clade to sloths (Folivora), together forming Pilosa.

Until a detailed taxonomic review in 2017, seven subspecies of ''C. didactylus'' were recognized.<ref name=Hayssen2012/> * ''C. d. didactylus'' Linnaeus, 1758 - the Guyanas, eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Atlantic Forest * ''C. d. catellus'' Thomas, 1928 - northern Bolivia, southeastern Peru, western Brazil * ''C. d. dorsalis'' Gray, 1865 - extreme southern Mexico, Central America, northern Colombia * ''C. d. eva'' Thomas, 1902 - western Ecuador, southwestern Colombia * ''C. d. ida'', Thomas, 1900 - western Brazil, eastern Ecuador and Peru * ''C. d. melini'' Lönnberg, 1928 - northern Brazil, eastern Colombia * ''C. d. mexicanus'' Hollister, 1914 - southern Mexico

{{cladogram|title=Cladogram of living ''Cyclopes''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gibb |first1=Gillian C. |last2=Condamine |first2=Fabien L. |last3=Kuch |first3=Melanie |last4=Enk |first4=Jacob |last5=Moraes-Barros |first5=Nadia |last6=Superina |first6=Mariella |last7=Poinar |first7=Hendrik N. |last8=Delsuc |first8=Frédéric |title=Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference PhyloGenetic Framework and Timescale for Living Xenarthrans |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=33 |issue=3 |year=2015 |pages=621–642 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msv250 |pmid=26556496 |pmc=4760074 }}</ref><ref name="Miranda2017"/> |{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:100%;width:200px; |label1=''Cyclopes'' |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''C. rufus'' |2=''C. thomasi'' }} |2={{clade |1=''C. ida'' |2={{clade |1=''C. xinguensis'' |2={{clade |1=''C. dorsalis'' |2=''C. didactylus'' }} }} }} }} }} |}}

The 2017 review suggests that four of these subspecies deserve to be recognized as species, while the others are synonyms. It also described three new species of silky anteater.<ref name="Miranda2017"/> * ''C. didactylus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (synonym: ''C. d. melini'') - the Guyanas, eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Atlantic Forest and northern Brazil * ''C. catellus'' Thomas, 1928 - Bolivia * ''C. dorsalis'' (Gray, 1865) (synonyms: ''C. d. eva'' and ''C. d. mexicanus'') - western Ecuador, southwestern to northern Colombia, Central America, southern Mexico * ''C. ida'' Thomas, 1900 - western Brazil, eastern Ecuador, eastern Colombia and Peru * ''C. thomasi'' Miranda et al., 2017 - Central Peru, extreme western Brazil (Acre) * ''C. rufus'' Miranda et al., 2017 - Brazil (Rondônia) * ''C. xinguensis'' Miranda et al., 2017 - Brazil, between the Madeira River and the Xingu River (Below the Amazon River)

==Behavior== [[File:Cyclopes didactylus Museum de Genève.JPG|thumb|left|A mounted specimen from the Natural History Museum of Geneva]] Silky anteaters are nocturnal and arboreal,<ref name=Hayssen2012/> found in lowland rainforests with continuous canopy, where they can move to different places without the need to descend from trees.<ref name=Bartoz2009>{{Cite web|last1=Bartoz |first1=Suzy |last2=Cerda |first2=Anthony |title=Silky Anteater |publisher=Benedictine University |year=2009 |access-date=16 Aug 2009 |url=http://www.ben.edu/museum/search.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004180253/http://www.ben.edu/museum/search.cfm |archive-date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref> They can occur at fairly high densities of 0.77 individuals/ha, for example, in some areas.{{clarification|date=October 2012|reason=Such as where?}} Females have smaller home ranges than males.

The silky anteater is a slow-moving animal and feeds mainly on ants, eating between 700 and 5,000 a day.<ref name=Miranda2009>{{cite journal | author = Miranda, F.| year = 2009 | title = Food habits of wild silky anteaters (''Cyclopes didactylus'') of São Luis do Maranhão, Brazil | journal = Edentata | volume = 8-10 | pages = 1–5 | doi = 10.1896/020.010.0109|display-authors=etal| hdl = 11336/80378 | s2cid = 84901651 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> Silky anteaters also feed on wasps and wasp pupae, attacking the wasp nests at night when the wasps are sluggish and unable to defend themselves.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Husson |first1=A. M. |title=The mammals of Suriname |date=1978 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-05819-4 |pages=569}}</ref> Sometimes, it also feeds on other insects, such as termites and small coccinellid beetles.<ref name=Bartoz2009/> It has been observed to consume fruits while in captivity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Cyclopes_didactylus%20-%20Silky%20Anteater.pdf|title=Cyclopes didactylus (Silky Anteater)|website=Sta.uwi.edu|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> The silky anteater defecates once a day. Some of those faeces contain a large quantity of exoskeleton fragments of insects, indicating the silky anteater does not possess either chitinase or chitobiase,<ref name=Bartoz2009/> digestive enzymes found in insectivorous bats.

It is a solitary animal and gives birth to a single young, up to twice a year. The young are born already furred, and with a similar colour pattern to the adults. They begin to take solid food when they are about one-third of the adult mass.<ref name=Hayssen2012/> The young is usually placed inside a nest of dead leaves built in tree holes,<ref name=Bartoz2009/> and left for about eight hours each night.<ref name=Hayssen2012/>

[[File:Sliky Anteater 2.jpeg|thumb|left|Silky anteater sleeping, Damas Island, Costa Rica]] Some authors suggest the silky anteater usually dwells in silk cotton trees (genus ''Ceiba'').<ref name=wildinfo>{{Cite web | title = Silky Anteater | publisher = WildMagazine | url = http://www.wildinfo.net/facts/Silkyanteater.asp | access-date = 1 February 2012}}</ref> Because of its resemblance to the seed pod fibers of these trees, it can use the trees as camouflage<ref name=Bartoz2009/> and avoid attacks of predators such as hawks and, especially, harpy eagles. During the day, they typically sleep curled up in a ball.<ref name=Sunquist1973>{{cite journal |author1=Sunquist, M.E. |author2=Montgomery, G.G. |name-list-style=amp | year = 1973 | title = Activity pattern of a translocated silky anteater (''Cyclopes didactylus'') | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 54 | issue = 3 | jstor=1378984 | page = 782 | doi=10.2307/1378984}}</ref> Although they are rarely seen in the forest, they can be found more easily when they are foraging on lianas at night.

When threatened, the silky anteater, like other anteaters, defends itself by standing on its hind legs and holding its fore feet close to its face so it can strike any animal that tries to get close with its sharp claws.<ref name=Hayssen2012/>

The silky anteater is a host of the acanthocephalan intestinal parasite ''Gigantorhynchus echinodiscus''.<ref name="Gomes 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Nascimento Gomes |first1=Ana Paula |last2=Cesário |first2=Clarice Silva |last3=Olifiers |first3=Natalie |last4=de Cassia Bianchi |first4=Rita |last5=Maldonado |first5=Arnaldo |last6=Vilela |first6=Roberto do Val |title=New morphological and genetic data of ''Gigantorhynchus echinodiscus'' (Diesing, 1851) (Acanthocephala: Archiacanthocephala) in the giant anteater ''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'' Linnaeus, 1758 (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae) |journal=International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |date=December 2019 |volume=10 |pages=281–288 |doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2019.09.008|pmid=31867208 |pmc=6906829 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019IJPPW..10..281N }}</ref> {{-}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Other sources== * {{Cite book | last1 = Emmons | first1 = Louise H. | last2 = Feer | first2 = François | author-link = Louise H. Emmons | title = Neotropical rainforest mammals. A field guide | edition = 2nd | publisher = University of Chicago Press | date = 1997-09-02 | location = Chicago | pages = 41–42 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hzqQlALoybIC | isbn =978-0-226-20721-6 | oclc = 44179508}} * Eisenberg, J.F. and Redford, K.H. 1999. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=p2MDAzCeQQoC Mammals of the Neotropics, Volume 3: The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil]". University of Chicago Press.

{{Wikispecies|Cyclopes didactylus|Silky anteater}} {{Commons category|Cyclopes didactylus}} {{Pilosa}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q244043}}

Category:Anteaters Category:Arboreal mammals Category:Mammals of Central America Category:Mammals of the Caribbean Category:Mammals of Bolivia Category:Mammals of Brazil Category:Mammals of Colombia Category:Mammals of Ecuador Category:Mammals of French Guiana Category:Mammals of Guyana Category:Mammals of Mexico Category:Mammals of Peru Category:Mammals of Suriname Category:Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago Category:Mammals of Venezuela Category:Fauna of the Amazon Silky anteater Silky anteater