It is hard to guess what a Silky anteater weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) on average weights 259 grams (0.57 lbs).
The Silky anteater is from the family Myrmecophagidae (genus: Cyclopes). They can live for up to 2.25 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 17.7 cm (0′ 7″). Usually, Silky anteaters have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), also known as the pygmy anteater, is a species of anteater in the genus Cyclopes, the only living genus in the family Cyclopedidae. It is found in southern Mexico, and Central and South America. A taxonomic review in 2017, including both molecular and morphological evidence, found that Cyclopes may comprise not one species (C. didactylus), as previously thought, but at least seven. The only known extinct cyclopedid species, Palaeomyrmidon incomtus, from the Late Miocene (c. 7 to 9 million years ago) of modern-day Argentina, is thought to share common ancestry with Cyclopes. It is the smallest of all known anteaters, has nocturnal habits and appears to be completely arboreal. Its hind feet are highly modified for climbing.
Animals of the same family as a Silky anteater
We found other animals of the Myrmecophagidae family:
- Giant anteater bringing 28.72 kilos (63.32 lbs) to the scale
- Southern tamandua bringing 4.73 kilos (10.43 lbs) to the scale
- Northern tamandua bringing 4.11 kilos (9.06 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Silky anteater
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Cyclopes didactylus:
- Armored rat bringing 281 grams to the scale
- White-toothed tuco-tuco bringing 244 grams to the scale
- White-throated woodrat bringing 208 grams to the scale
- Gray-footed spiny rat bringing 284 grams to the scale
- Tucuman tuco-tuco bringing 217 grams to the scale
- Pallid Atlantic tree-rat bringing 215 grams to the scale
- Mentawai three-striped squirrel bringing 241 grams to the scale
- Emilia’s marmoset bringing 309 grams to the scale
- Chinese zokor bringing 256 grams to the scale
- Philippine forest rat bringing 253 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Silky anteater
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Silky anteater:
- Echigo mole with a size of 16.9 cm (0′ 7″)
- Steppe pika with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Greater fairy armadillo with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Bush rat with a size of 15.8 cm (0′ 7″)
- Ribboned rope squirrel with a size of 16.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Mindanao hairy-tailed rat with a size of 17.5 cm (0′ 7″)
- Texas antelope squirrel with a size of 15.2 cm (0′ 6″)
- Black-striped squirrel with a size of 20.3 cm (0′ 8″)
- Sundevall’s jird with a size of 15 cm (0′ 6″)
- Knox Jones’s pocket gopher with a size of 15.4 cm (0′ 7″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Silky anteater
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Silky anteater:
- Northern plains gray langur
- Black-footed cat
- Coppery titi
- Red-legged pademelon
- Japanese serow
- Voalavoanala
- White-faced spiny tree-rat
- Red-fronted gazelle
- Springbok
- Orange leaf-nosed bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Silky anteater
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Silky anteater:
- Merriam’s pocket mouse with an average maximal age of 2.5 years
- Etruscan shrew with an average maximal age of 2.67 years
- Pen-tailed treeshrew with an average maximal age of 2.67 years
- Red-cheeked dunnart with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Common shrew with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Cinereus shrew with an average maximal age of 1.92 years
- Ningbing false antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Dusky antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Laxmann’s shrew with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Heermann’s kangaroo rat with an average maximal age of 2.33 years