It is hard to guess what a Southern tamandua weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) on average weights 4.73 kg (10.42 lbs).
The Southern tamandua is from the family Myrmecophagidae (genus: Tamandua). They can live for up to 9 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 56.1 cm (1′ 11″). On average, Southern tamanduas can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 1.
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 southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America. It is a solitary animal, found in many habitats from mature to highly disturbed secondary forests and arid savannas. It feeds on ants, termites, and bees. Its very strong fore claws can be used to break insect nests or to defend itself.
Animals of the same family as a Southern tamandua
We found other animals of the Myrmecophagidae family:
- Northern tamandua bringing 4.11 kilos (9.06 lbs) to the scale
- Silky anteater with a weight of 259 grams
- Giant anteater bringing 28.72 kilos (63.32 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Southern tamandua
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Tamandua tetradactyla:
- Common spotted cuscus with a weight of 4.06 kilos (8.95 lbs)
- Greater mouse-deer with a weight of 5.25 kilos (11.57 lbs)
- Preuss’s monkey with a weight of 5.14 kilos (11.33 lbs)
- Bridled nail-tail wallaby with a weight of 4.95 kilos (10.91 lbs)
- Brown howler with a weight of 5.19 kilos (11.44 lbs)
- Bicolored-spined porcupine with a weight of 4.49 kilos (9.9 lbs)
- Tibetan sand fox with a weight of 5.54 kilos (12.21 lbs)
- Allen’s swamp monkey with a weight of 4.75 kilos (10.47 lbs)
- Chinese mountain cat with a weight of 5.49 kilos (12.1 lbs)
- Southern naked-tailed armadillo with a weight of 4.06 kilos (8.95 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Southern tamandua
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Southern tamandua:
- Yellow-tailed woolly monkey with a size of 55.1 cm (1′ 10″)
- Purple-faced langur with a size of 58.5 cm (2′ 0″)
- Black-crested Sumatran langur with a size of 50.4 cm (1′ 8″)
- Marsh mongoose with a size of 50 cm (1′ 8″)
- Mantled howler with a size of 57.7 cm (1′ 11″)
- Golden snub-nosed monkey with a size of 64.7 cm (2′ 2″)
- Arctic hare with a size of 57.2 cm (1′ 11″)
- Natal red rock hare with a size of 51 cm (1′ 9″)
- Egyptian mongoose with a size of 57.5 cm (1′ 11″)
- Tonkin snub-nosed monkey with a size of 56.9 cm (1′ 11″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Southern tamandua
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Southern tamandua:
- Sunda slow loris
- Giant roundleaf bat
- Speke’s gazelle
- Ribbon seal
- Rufous elephant shrew
- Mountain tapir
- Mindanao treeshrew
- Fallow deer
- Pygmy treeshrew
- Kelaart’s pipistrelle
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Southern tamandua
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Southern tamandua:
- San Diego pocket mouse with an average maximal age of 8.25 years
- Island fox with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Sarcophilus laniarius with an average maximal age of 8.17 years
- Greater bilby with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Yuma myotis with an average maximal age of 8.75 years
- Jaguarundi with an average maximal age of 10.58 years
- Golden hamster with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Black dorcopsis with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Maned rat with an average maximal age of 7.5 years
- Bushveld elephant shrew with an average maximal age of 8.75 years