Aardvark

The Aardvark is a burrowing, ant-eating mammal. It is found throughout much of Africa, from the southern part of Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope. They are found in savannas, open grasslands, woodlands, and scrub.

The Aardvark is the first animal listed in the dictionary.

In the Afrikaans language ‘aardvark’ means ‘earth pig.’ Originally written as 'aardvarken', the word comes from South African Dutch, which became Afrikaans. The aard- part is the Dutch word aarde, which means "earth" and comes from the same Germanic stock as the English word. The -varken part means "pig."

Adult aardvarks are a little more than one meter (45 inches) long and weigh about 60 kilograms (130 pounds).

About two feet of the aardvark's length is its tail, which it uses to throw earth backward when it burrows.

An aardvark’s ears may be 10 inches long.

The aardvark has 20 cylindrical, rootless teeth that grow continually throughout its lifetime.

They eat mostly ants and termites. The Aardvark uses its specialized, chisel-shaped claws to break open the hard clay of termite nests.

The Aardvark has a long sticky tongue which makes it easy to pick up many ants at once.

It will fight when it cannot flee or burrow to safety; lying on its back, the Aardvark defends itself with its powerful claws. 

Although similar in appearance and diet, anteaters and aardvarks are not related.

Source Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia