Aardwolf

For other uses, see Aardwolf (disambiguation).

Aardwolf
Temporal range: Pleistocene – Recent
An aardwolf in Namib-Nord, Namibia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Hyaenidae
Subfamily: Protelinae
Genus: Proteles
Species:
P. cristatus
Binomial name
Proteles cristatus
(Sparrman, 1783)
Map
Aardwolf range
  Extant (resident)
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy
  • Proteles cristata Sparrman, 1783
  • Proteles typicus Smith, 1834
  • Viverra cristata Sparrman, 1783
  • Viverra hyenoides Desmarest, 1820

The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus[3]) is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch.[4][5] It is also called the maanhaar-jackal[6][7] (Afrikaans for "mane-jackal"), termite-eating hyena[8] and civet hyena, based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland, a characteristic shared with the African civet.[9]

Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. It eats insects and their larvae,[10] mainly termites; one aardwolf can lap up as many as 300,000 termites during a single night[11] using its long, sticky tongue. The aardwolf's tongue has adapted to be tough enough to withstand the strong bite of termites.[12]

The aardwolf lives in the shrublands of eastern and southern Africa – open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs. It is nocturnal, resting in burrows during the day and emerging at night to seek food.

  1. ^ Green, D.S. (2015). "Proteles cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T18372A45195681. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T18372A45195681.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Proteles cristata (Sparrman, 1783)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ^ Werdelin, L.; Kitchener, A. C.; Abramov, A.; Veron, G.; Do Linh San, E. (2021). "The Scientific Name of the Aardwolf is Proteles cristatus". African Journal of Wildlife Research. 51 (1): 149–152. doi:10.3957/056.051.0149. S2CID 242046818.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Aardwolf, n." Dictionary of South African English. Dictionary Unit for South African English, 2018. Web. 25 February 2019.
  6. ^ Oxford English Dictionary Online 2013
  7. ^ "Maanhaar, n." Dictionary of South African English. Dictionary Unit for South African English, 2018. Web. 25 February 2019.
  8. ^ Macintyre, G. T. (1972). "The Trisulcate Petrosal Pattern of Mammals". In Dobzhansky, T.; Hecht, M. K.; Steere, W. C. (eds.). Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 6. Springer US. pp. 275–303. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-9063-3_9. ISBN 978-1-4684-9063-3.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference ingo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Anon 1998, p. 144
  11. ^ Koepfli et al. 2006.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference mh71 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).