The aardwolf is an insectivorous species of hyena, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called the maanhaar-jackal, termite-eating hyena and civet hyena, based on its habit of secreting substances from its anal gland, a characteristic shared with the African civet.
Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects which consume a wide variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied and typically unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants, to which they are distantly related. About 2,972 extant species are currently described, 2,105 of which are members of the family Termitidae.
The bat-eared fox is a species of fox found on the African savanna. It is the only extant species of the genus Otocyon and considered a basal canid species. Fossil records indicate this canid first appeared during the middle Pleistocene.
Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically making them cockroaches as well. The Blattodea and the mantis are now all considered part of the superorder Dictyoptera. Blattodea includes approximately 4,400 species of cockroach in almost 500 genera, and about 3,000 species of termite in around 300 genera.
The black-tailed prairie dog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 25,000 sq mi (64,000 km2) and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, the species may have been the most abundant prairie dog in central North America. It was one of two prairie dogs described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the journals and diaries of their expedition.
Dung middens, also known as dung hills, are piles of dung that mammals periodically return to and build up. They are used as a form of territorial marker. A range of animals are known to use them including steenbok, hyrax, and rhinoceros. Other animals are attracted to middens for a variety of purposes, including finding food and locating mates. Some species, such as the dung beetle genus Dicranocara of the Richtersveld in South western Africa spend their whole lifecycle in close association with dung middens. Dung middens are also used in the field of Paleobotany, which relies on the fact that each ecosystem is characterized by certain plants, which in turn act as a proxy for climate. Dung middens are useful as they often contain pollen which means fossilized dung middens can be used in Paleobotany to learn about past climates.
The short-snouted elephant shrew or short-snouted sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found over a wide area of Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
The banner-tailed kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in arid environments in the southwestern United States and Mexico where it lives in a burrow by day and forages for seeds and plant matter by night.
Heuweltjies are large mounds above or near the surface of the landscape, a type of soil surface feature that occurs widely in the south-western Cape of South Africa. Their formation has been the subject of a wide range of speculation and of debate.
The Hodotermitidae are a basal Old World family of termites known as the harvester termites. They are distinguished by the serrated inner edge of their mandibles, and their functional compound eyes which are present in all castes. They forage for grass at night and during daylight hours, and the pigmented workers are often observed outside the nest. Their range includes the deserts and savannas of Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. Their English name refers to their habit of collecting grass, which is not unique to the family however.
Hodotermes is a genus of African harvester termites in the Hodotermitidae. They range from Palaearctic North Africa, through the East African savannas to the karroid regions of southern Africa. As with harvester termites in general, they have serrated inner edges to their mandibles, and all castes have functional compound eyes. They forage for grass at night and during the day, and their pigmented workers are often observed outside the nest.
Psammotermes is a genus of termites in the family Rhinotermitidae. It is found living in subterranean nests in arid parts of Africa.
Macrotermes michaelseni is a species of termite in the family Termitidae, found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is associated with the fungus Termitomyces schimperi.
Nasutitermes triodiae, also known as the cathedral termite, is a grass-eating species of Nasutitermitinae termite that can be found in Northern Territory, Australia. It is also sometimes referred to as the spinifex termite, since it is found in the spinifex grasslands. Very little research has been done on the underground nature of this species.
Macrotermes is a genus of termites belonging to the subfamily Macrotermitinae and widely distributed throughout Africa and South-East Asia. Well-studied species include Macrotermes natalensis and M. bellicosus.
Trinervitermes biformis, the snouted harvester termite, is a species of mound building termite in the genus Trinervitermes, native to India and Sri Lanka. The type species was described from the Bandarawela area of Sri Lanka. It is a pest of sugarcane and brinjal.
Macrotermes carbonarius, also known as Kongkiak in Malay, is a large black species of fungus-growing termite in the genus Macrotermes. It is one of the most conspicuous species of Macrotermes found in the Indomalayan tropics, forming large foraging trails in the open that can extend several metres in distance. M. carbonarius is a highly aggressive species with the soldiers possessing large curving mandibles that easily break skin. It is found in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Trinervitermes is a termite genus belonging to family Termitidae. Members are native to the Old World. They inhabit grasslands and store grass in their nests or mounds, just below the ground surface. Their grass-collecting activities are mainly nocturnal. The soldier caste has atrophied mandibles and a fontanelle squirt gun on the frons. Diterpenes and monoterpenes are released to deter ants and smaller predators, but these are not effective against larger mammalian predators. Due to the snout on the head of soldiers and their grass-collecting habits, they are known as snouted harvester termites.
Odontotermes is a termite genus belonging to subfamily Macrotermitinae, which is native to the Old World. They are most destructive in wooden homes, and are agricultural pests in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It is the most diverse termite genus in Africa, with 78 species recorded.
Syntermes is a genus of large Neotropical higher termites within the subfamily Syntermitinae. The genus is found only in South America where members are distributed widely throughout the continent, being found from the tropical rainforests of Colombia to the savannas of Brazil and Northern Argentina.
