THE ANIMAL FILES

Common silky anteater

Cyclopes didactylus

A small forest anteater whose old name once covered several species.

The common silky anteater lives in trees and is active at night. It was once treated as the sole species of Cyclopes, but a review combining body form and genetic evidence separated several species from that broad concept.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Common silky anteater
Image: Quinten Questel · Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Activity
Nocturnal[1]
Movement
Tree-dwelling, with climbing-specialised hindfeet[1]
Main food
Ants[3]

A life in the branches

Modified hindfeet help it climb. The species is associated with evergreen tropical forests, secondary forests and mangroves. These forest types differ, but all provide a branching environment for an arboreal animal.[1][3]

The name does not guarantee termites

The specialist-group account describes a diet dominated by ants, with beetles also recorded. It reports no termites identified in the studies reviewed. That is a statement about recorded evidence, not proof that every possible meal has been observed.[3]

Read older records with a boundary

Older reports of Cyclopes didactylus may refer to the broader group before revision. A locality or behaviour from that literature needs its taxonomic scope checked before being assigned to the current species.[1][3]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Did the review discover seven newly created animals?

No. It recognised differences among existing populations that had previously been grouped under one species name.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why be careful with an old range map?

Reveal the explanation

Its name may have included populations now assigned to other species, making the old boundary broader than the current species.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Common silky anteater (fixed revision; adapted and translated)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Cyclopes didactylus (identity and classification)
  3. IUCN SSC specialist group — Common silky anteater account

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

Linnaeus's two-toed sloth“Two-toed” names the forefeet, not every foot on the animal.Choloepus didactylus ↗European hedgehogA spiny visitor with more than one kind of nest.Erinaceus europaeus ↗European moleTiny, fur-hidden eyes are still eyes that can detect light.Talpa europaea ↗