{"id":313,"date":"2025-07-18T13:43:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/wildscience\/?p=313"},"modified":"2025-07-18T13:43:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:43:41","slug":"why-mammals-keep-evolving-to-eat-ants-over-and-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/wildscience\/2025\/07\/18\/why-mammals-keep-evolving-to-eat-ants-over-and-over-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mammals Keep Evolving to Eat Ants\u2014Over and Over Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

The extreme appetite for ants and termites has independently emerged in mammals at least 12 separate times over the past 66 million years, according to new research that reveals one of evolution’s most unusual dietary obsessions. Scientists at New Jersey Institute of Technology<\/a> traced this specialized feeding strategy across thousands of mammal species, discovering that the rise of social insects after the dinosaur extinction triggered a cascade of evolutionary adaptations in mammals worldwide.<\/p>\n

Published in Evolution, the comprehensive study analyzed dietary data from 4,099 mammal species to understand how and when this peculiar eating habit\u2014called myrmecophagy\u2014developed across different animal lineages following the dramatic ecosystem changes that occurred after non-avian dinosaurs disappeared.<\/p>\n

Extreme Dietary Commitment Requires Major Changes<\/h2>\n

Only about 20 mammal species today qualify as true myrmecophages\u2014animals that have evolved to eat ants and termites exclusively. These specialists include giant anteaters, aardvarks, and pangolins, all of which have developed remarkable adaptations: elongated sticky tongues, specialized claws, modified stomachs, and reduced or missing teeth.<\/p>\n

The commitment required is staggering in terms of daily consumption. A numbat must consume approximately 20,000 termites daily to meet its energy needs, while an aardwolf can hunt up to 300,000 insects in a single night\u2014a testament to how energy-poor these tiny prey items are.<\/p>\n

“There’s not been an investigation into how this dramatic diet evolved across all known mammal species until now,” explained Phillip Barden, the study’s corresponding author and associate professor of biology at NJIT. “This work gives us the first real roadmap, and what really stands out is just how powerful a selective force ants and termites have been over the last 50 million years.”<\/p>\n

Social Insects Became Abundant After Dinosaur Extinction<\/h2>\n

The research team traced ant and termite colony evolution back 145 million years to understand when these insects became viable as a primary food source. During the Cretaceous period, ants and termites represented less than 1% of Earth’s insects, far too scarce to support specialist feeders.<\/p>\n

The situation changed dramatically following the K-Pg extinction event that eliminated non-avian dinosaurs. Ants and termites expanded rapidly in the reshuffled ecosystems, reaching modern abundance levels around 23 million years ago when they comprised 35% of all insect specimens.<\/p>\n

Key Evolutionary Patterns Discovered:<\/h2>\n