A silky anteater, small enough to sit comfortably in your palm, rests in the canopy of a mangrove forest in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta. Photo Credit: João Marcos Rosa
Animals BrazilNew Anteater Species Discovered
Scientists believe they have found a new species of anteater, bringing the total to eight distinct silky anteater species.
“I always had this feeling that there was more than one species. I’d noticed differences in the fur color of populations in different regions,” says Flávia Miranda, who has studied Brazil’s sloths, anteaters, and armadillos for 30 years.
The anteater in question was found in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta, more than 1,000 miles away from their nearest known kin located in the Amazon Basin. Miranda believes the last interaction between the two may have been over 11,000 years ago when the Amazon rainforest reached the Parnaíba Delta. Though anteaters are considerably understudied, a recorded total of seven distinct silky anteaters exist across the Americas. Should the newly found anteater be declared a species of its own, the number will rise to eight. “I’ve got a feeling there are more ‘missing link’ populations,” adds Miranda.
