The giant anteater is surely among the most eccentric-looking of animals.
But it is an ecological oddity, too. As the name suggests, it is an extreme example of a large mammal that specialises in feeding on tiny prey.
Little surprise that a 50kg adult must consume a lot of prey – as many as 30,000 individual ants and termites a day, in fact.
And it does so with the aid of a suite of adaptations that also contribute to its eccentric appearance.
First, there are the muscular front legs tipped with fearsome hooked claws, all the better for tearing open termite mounds and ants’ nests.
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So as not to blunt their talons, giant anteaters walk on their knuckles, gorilla-style.
Then there is that famously long face, which is perfect for poking around amongst the debris. This monumental snout is also built to accommodate a 60cm-long tongue that traps its victims in a coating of treacle-like saliva.
Attached directly to the sternum at its base, the tongue is unique among mammals in lacking structural connections in the throat.
This gives it a huge freedom of movement, allowing it to project 45cm from the mouth opening to probe deep into the labyrinthine tunnels of its prey.
Main image: A giant anteater eats termites from a mound in the Brazilian Pantanal. © Julian Gunther/Getty