What is "tamandua"

Tamandu \Ta*man"du\, n. [Sp., from the native name: cf. F. tamandua.] (Zo["o]l.) A small ant-eater ( Tamandua tetradactyla) native of the tropical parts of South America.

Note: It has five toes on the fore feet, an elongated snout, small ears, and short woolly hair. Its tail is stout and hairy at the base, tapering, and covered with minute scales, and is somewhat prehensile at the end. Called also tamandua, little ant-bear, fourmilier, and cagouare. The collared, or striped, tamandu ( Tamandua bivittata) is considered a distinct species by some writers, but by others is regarded as only a variety.

n. An anteater of the genus ''Tamandua''.

n. small toothless anteater with prehensile tale and four-clawed forelimbs; of tropical South America and Central America [syn: tamandu, lesser anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla]

Tamandua is a genus of anteaters with two species: the southern tamandua (T. tetradactyla) and the northern tamandua (T. mexicana). They live in forests and grasslands, are semiarboreal, and possess partially prehensile tails. They mainly eat ants and termites, but they occasionally eat bees, beetles, and insect larvae. In captivity, they will eat fruits and meat. They have no teeth and depend on their powerful gizzards to break down their food.

The northern tamandua ranges from southeastern Mexico south throughout Central America, and in South America west of the Andes from northern Venezuela to northern Peru. Southern tamanduas are found from Venezuela and Trinidad to northern Argentina, southern Brazil and Uruguay.

The word tamanduá is Tupi for "anteater", and in Tupi and Portuguese refers to anteaters in general. In those languages, the tamandua is called tamanduá-mirim (mirim means "small").