Tamandua is a genus of anteaters with two species: the southern tamandua (T. tetradactyla) and the northern tamandua (T. mexicana). They live in forests and grasslands, are semiarboreal, and possess partially prehensile tails. They mainly eat ants and termites, but they occasionally eat bees, beetles, and insect larvae. In captivity, they will eat fruits and meat. They have no teeth and depend on their powerful gizzards to break down their food.
The word tamanduá is Tupi for "anteater" and in Tupi and Brazilian Portuguese refers to anteaters in general. In those languages, the tamandua is called tamanduá-mirim (mirim means "small").[citation needed]
