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#myrmecophagy β€” Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #myrmecophagy, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Mikko Tuomi @[email protected] Β·

    Mammals have developed some unusual eating habits over the past 100 million years, but a new study has uncovered the surprising lengths to which some have gone to satisfy one of the more peculiarβ€”a taste for #ants and #termites.

    Mammals independently evolved specialized adaptations for exclusively feeding on ants and termites at least 12 times since the #Cenozoic era began, roughly 66 million years ago.

    The #convergent #evolution among #mammals toward this dietary strategyβ€”called #myrmecophagyβ€”emerged following the K-Pg #extinction and fall of non-avian dinosaurs, which reshaped ecosystems and set the stage for ant and termite colonies to rapidly expand worldwide.

    Over 200 mammal #species are known to eat ants and termites today, yet only about 20 true myrmecophagesβ€”such as giant anteaters, aardvarks and pangolinsβ€”have evolved traits like long sticky tongues, specialized claws and stomachs, and reduced or missing teeth, to efficiently consume thousands of these insects daily as their sole food source.

    #evolution #ecology #biology
    phys.org/news/2025-07-mammals-

    Vida et al. (2025):
    academic.oup.com/evolut/articl

    #ants #termites #cenozoic #convergent #evolution #mammals
  2. Myrmecological News @[email protected] Β·

    πŸ†•Photoblog: In the accompanying blog post, Herbert Wagner shares some of his favourite photos and videos from the field concerning his latest article published in Myrmecological News.

    #batesian #mimicry #aposematism #myrmecophagy #Istria #Mediterranean

    blog.myrmecologicalnews.org/20

    #batesian #mimicry #aposematism #myrmecophagy #istria #mediterranean
  3. Myrmecological News @[email protected] Β·

    πŸ†• Original Article: πΆπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘šπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘œπ‘”π‘Žπ‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘ π‘π‘’π‘‘π‘’π‘™π‘™π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘  and its putative mimic πΆπ‘Žπ‘šπ‘π‘œπ‘›π‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘  π‘™π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘™π‘–π‘  (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are underrepresented in feces of ant-eating South-Alpine wall-lizards (π‘ƒπ‘œπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘π‘–π‘  π‘šπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘™π‘–π‘  π‘šπ‘Žπ‘π‘’π‘™π‘–π‘£π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘ )
    Wagner, H.C

    #batesian #mimicry #myrmecophagy #Istria #Mediterranean

    myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/ind

    #batesian #mimicry #myrmecophagy #istria #mediterranean
  4. Dr. Angus Andrea Grieve-Smith @[email protected] Β·

    @ScienceScholar Since the headline raises a question that is only answered in the paywalled article and the image without alt text, here is the list of 12 myrmecophages that have evolved over the past 66 million years:

    mongoose
    aardwolf
    sloth bear
    pangolin
    echidna
    numbat
    anteater
    aardvark
    golden mole
    tenrec
    elephant shrew

    #science #myrmecophagy #anteater #ConvergentEvolution #evolution #mongoose #aardwolf #SlothBear #pangolin #echidna #numbat #aardvark #GoldenMole #tenrec #ElephantShrew

    #science #myrmecophagy #anteater #convergentevolution #evolution #mongoose