AARD-VARK (ard' vark), "earth-pig," the Dutch name for ant-eating mammals of the genus Orycteropus, confined to Africa (see EDENTATA). The typical form is 0. capensis, or Cape-ant bear from South Africa ; the northern aard-vark (0. aethio picus) of north-eastern Africa, extends into Egypt. The body is stout, with arched back ; the limbs are short and stout, armed with strong, blunt claws; the ears long; and the tail thick at the base and tapering gradually. The elongated head is set on a short thick neck, and at the extremity of the snout is a disc in which the nostrils open. The mouth is small and tubular, furnished with a long extensile tongue. A large individual measured 6f t. 8in. In colour the Cape aard-vark is pale sandy or yellow, the hair being scanty and allowing the skin to show ; the northern aard-vark has a still thinner coat, a shorter tail and longer head and ears. These animals are nocturnal and burrowing. The strong claws make a hole in the side of the ant-hill, and the insects are collected on the extensile tongue.