Southern Tamandua - Physical Description

Physical Description

The southern tamandua is a medium-sized anteater, though can vary considerably in size based on environmental conditions. It has a head and body length ranging from 34 to 88 cm (13 to 35 in), and a prehensile tail 37 to 67 cm (15 to 26 in) long. Adults weigh from 1.5 to 8.4 kg (3.3 to 19 lb); there is no significant difference in size between males and females. Like their close relative, the northern tamandua, they have four clawed digits on the forefeet and five on the hindfeet, and walk on the outer surface of their forefeet, to avoid puncturing their palms with their sharp claws. The underside and the tip of the tail are hairless. The snout is long and decurved with an opening only as wide as the diameter of a stick, from which the tongue is protruded. Although there are also some differences in the shape of the skull, they can most easily be distinguished from the northern tamandua by their slightly longer ears, which average around 5 centimetres (2.0 in), instead of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) as in the northern species.

The individual and geographic variation observed in the southern tamandua has made the taxonomic description of these animals a difficult task. Animals from the southeastern part of the range are "strongly vested", meaning that they have black markings from shoulder to rump; the black patch widens near the shoulders and encircles the forelimbs . The rest of the body can be blonde, tan, or brown. Animals from northern Brazil and Venezuela to west of the Andes are solid blonde, brown, or black, or are only lightly vested.