anteater

Noun

• a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australia

• a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guinea

• small Australian marsupial having long snout and strong claws for feeding on termites; nearly extinct

• nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata

• any of several tropical American mammals of the family Myrmecophagidae which lack teeth and feed on ants and termites

• toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on ants and termites

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  echidna , spiny anteater , numbat , banded anteater , Myrmecobius fasciatus , aardvark , ant bear , Orycteropus afer , New World anteater , pangolin , scaly anteater