#0502 · 🦊 mammals
Aardvark
🇳🇱 Aardvarken ·Orycteropus afer
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Kelly Abram · CC0
- 2. © Niall Perrins · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Dave Brown · CC0
- 4. © Heather Paul · CC BY-ND 4.0
- 5. © Klaus Rassinger · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. © Valerie · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 7. © kevinjolliffe · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Ray Turnbull · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © David Hoare · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 10. © Pieter Theron · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
vɑːrk/ ARD-vark ; Orycteropus afer ) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, it...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 1,848 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs up to about 1.9 kg.
- Scientifically named by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766 (260 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Aardvark
- Nederlands
- Aardvarken
- scientific name
- Orycteropus afer
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Tubulidentata
- family
- Orycteropodidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 1,848
- GBIF records in NL
- 0
- weight
- 1.9 kg
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1766 by Peter Simon Pallas
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 47062, Wikidata Q46212, GBIF 5218416, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.