ant bear n large shaggy-haired toothless anteater with long tongue and powerful claws; of South America n nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata Synonym(s) giant anteater great anteater tamanoir Myrmecophaga jubata aardvark anteater Orycteropus afer