Brazilian study discovers six new species of silky anteaters

February 27, 2018, FAPESP

Since the pioneering description made in 1758 by Swedish naturalist and father of taxonomy Carl Nilsson Linnaeus (1707-1778), there was officially one single silky anteater species. This short-snouted, pigmy-sized anteater would then be known for its scientific name, Cyclopes didactyla, after its inclusion in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Linnaeus' magnum opus. It is found in tropical forests in South and Central America, as well as in the few remaining fragments of Atlantic rainforest in Northeast Brazil.

Six populations of C. didactylus scattered through this territory were discovered in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, because all the collected specimens appeared to be identical, it was thought that the subtle morphological differences could only justify the creation of subspecies of C. didactylus, therefore, the only species in the family Cyclopedidae.

But now, a Brazilian group of taxonomists, zoologists and geneticists proposes that silky anteaters comprise at least seven distinct species, after concluding a study of the biology and ecology of the new species, during which they sequenced mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from 287 specimens. They have published their results in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

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Venezuela crisis: population eats lizards, pigeons and anteaters to survive – via Herp Digest

In the midst of a severe economic crisis, desperate people flee from the drama of hunger by eating any animal.

U.S. Blastingnews.com, 2/22/17 by Raquel Oliver

"The diet of Maduro makes you hard". The comic phrase in Spanish spoken by the President of the Republic in September last year, when he mocked the thinness of a Venezuela, does not awaken today a humorous tone for the rest of the population of the country. 

In the midst of a severe economic crisis, with inflation in the three digits, famine has been severely scourging the Venezuelans. According to Encovi, an institution that verifies living conditions in the country, on average, Venezuelans lost 8.7 kg of their weight, uncontrolled only in the last year.

To escape the drama of hunger, the population has been feeding on any kind of animal: dogs, cats, lizards, donkeys, anteaters and even flamingos, which are protected by law in order to survive. 

Not infrequently, one finds carcases of these animals in the garbage of the city. "Sometimes we only find heads, guts and legs of the animal. We are used to seeing a bit of this in the past, but now this practice is out of control and on the rise, "Robert Linares, a waste disposal worker, told the Miami Herald. 

The lack of food has gained the name of 'Mature Diet'. In the words of Doris Rubio, CEO of the Association for the Protection of Animals, there is a synthesis on the suffering of the population subjugated to the notorious diet: "We find these deaths grotesque, but how can we be critical of someone who hunts a pigeon, a dog, a cat or any other animal because he or she is hungry People used to hunt lizards for sport.Now they do it out of necessity.  

The collapse of the country's economy has made it difficult to import basic goods such as food and medicines, creating scarcity across the country. Faced with a lack of resources, the population has been looting supermarkets in desperate search for food. 

Besides the opprobrium experienced by the population, there are still risks of consuming wild animals unfit for human consumption, where the ingestion of bacteria from these animals are human health hazards.

Angela Goodwin Has Two Anteaters For Pets

Angela Goodwin is not bugged by insects in her Oakridge, Oregon home -- thanks to two anteaters she keeps as pets.

Goodwin, 37, got her first anteater, Pua, back in 2006 and added a second, Aurora, two years ago.

The bug-craving duo spend their days sleeping in her washing machine and nights searching the house for ants -- and anything else that catches their fancy.

"I have to keep everything locked and bolted when they are not being supervised just to prevent problems," Goodwin said, according to the Daily Mail. "They can't be taught as easily as a dog but they will learn to do things if there's something in it for them."

Goodwin became interested in anteaters after seeing one on Animal Planet, and started doing online research on the critters.

But some things about anteaters can only be learned by actual experience: like their lack of personal hygiene and bad habit of clawing furniture.

"When I first got Pua it was kind of like having a little alien in the house," Goodwin told the Seattle Times. "But for me, I think it's worth it because I get a lot back from them. They're very loving."

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