A large piglike mammal in the order Tubulidentata. The order contains a single family, Orycteropodidae, and a single species, Orycteropus afer. Aardvarks occur throughout Africa south of the Sahara, wherever suitable habitat exists. In the past, tubulidentates were often considered closely related to ungulates. However, recent data from mitochondrial and nuclear genes support a relationship among aardvarks, elephant-shrews, paenungulates (hyraxes, sirenians, and proboscideans), and golden moles (Chrysochloridae). These ecologically divergent adaptive types probably originated in Africa; the molecular evidence implies that they may have arisen there from a common ancestor that existed in the Cretaceous Period, when Africa was isolated from other continents. This order shows the results of an extreme adaptation for burrowing and feeding on small food items (mainly termites). See also: