C. didactylus Skull Replica measures 1.7 in. C. didactylus Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane resin cast. Made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Known as the Silky Anteater.
The Silky Anteater or C. didactylus, also known as the Pygmy Anteater, is a species of anteater in the genus Cyclopes, the only living genus in the family Cyclopedidae.
C. didactylus are found from Oaxaca and southern Veracruz in Mexico, through Central America (except El Salvador), and south to Ecuador, northern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.
A distinct population is found in the northern Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Silky anteaters are also found on the island of Trinidad.
They inhabit a range of different forest types, including semi-deciduous, tropical evergreen, and mangrove forests, from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
Silky anteater or C. didactylus are the smallest living anteaters, and have proportionately shorter faces and larger crania than other species.
Adults have a total length ranging from 14 to 18 in., including a tail 6.7 to 9.4 in. long, and weigh from 6.2 to 14.1 oz.
They have dense and soft fur, which ranges from grey to yellowish in color, with a silvery sheen. The eyes are black, and the soles of the feet are red.
The scientific name translates roughly as “two-toed circle-foot”, and refers to the presence of two claws on the fore feet, and their ability to almost encircle a branch to which the Silky anteater or C. didactylus clings.
The claws are present on the second and third toes, with the latter being much the larger. The fourth toe is very small, and lacks a claw, while the other two toes are vestigial or absent, and are not visible externally.
The hind feet have four toes of equal length, each with long claws, and a vestigial hallux that is not externally visible. The ribs are broad and flat, overlapping to form an internal armoured casing that protects the chest. They have partially prehensile tails.
Silky anteater or C. didactylus are nocturnal and arboreal, found in lowland rain forests with continuous canopy, where they can move to different places without the need to descend from trees.
The C. didactylus is a slow-moving animal and feeds mainly on ants, eating between 700 and 5,000 a day. It also feeds on other insects, such as termites and small coccinellid beetles.
