Aardvarks and numbats: related? or convergent?

Numbats (genus: Myremecobius) are marsupial termite-eaters
without a pouch. Numbats (Figs 1–3) are diurnal, furry and small.

Aardvarks (genus: Orycteropus) are placental ant- and termite-eaters
(Figs 1–3) are nocturnal, naked and large.

Aardvarks now nest with numbats in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2338 taxa).

Let’s take a closer look at these two mammalian insectivores and ask:
are they convergent or homologous?

According to Wikipedia – Numbat
“The numbat genus Myrmecobius is the sole member of the family Myrmecobiidae, one of four families that make up the order Dasyuromorphia, the Australian marsupial carnivores.”

In evolution all taxa have relatives. Even so, in the LRT Myrmecobius does not nest with Dasyurus or other carnivorous dasyurids, but with small insectivores.

“Numbats … gestation lasts 15 days, and results in the birth of four young. Unusual for marsupials, female numbats have no pouch, although the four teats are protected by a patch of crimped, golden hair and by the swelling of the surrounding abdomen and thighs during lactation. The young are 2 cm (0.79 in) long at birth. They crawl immediately to the teats and remain attached until late July or early August, by which time they have grown to 7.5 cm (3.0 in). They are 3 cm (1.2 in) long when they first develop fur. The young are left in a nest or carried on the mother’s back after weaning, becoming fully independent by November.”

Numbats have large foreclaws and do not dig termites out of their mounds.
Aardvarks have larger foreclaws and do dig termites out of their mounds.

According to Wikipedia – Aardvark
“Aardvarks are the only living species of the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata”

Another phylogenetic loner.

“The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance.The similarities are the outcome of convergent evolution.”

In the LRT the anteater and aardvark are currently separated (due to glyptodont and armadillo convergence), but have been closer in earlier rounds of the LRT.
In the LRT, the numbat and aardvark share a clade with Middle Cretaceous Asioryctes, Late Eocene Leptictis and extant Rhynchocyon (Figs 1, 2) the sengi.

“The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews, Tenrecidae, and golden moles.”

In the LRT the closest living relatives are some sengis (= Rhynchocyon, not Marcoscelides), armadillos and pangolins. Tenrecs and odontocetes are not far off. Golden moles are further off.

“Gestation lasts seven to eight months, after which a female births a single cub.”

Take note that aardvarks are naked even as adults.
That’s neotony vis a vis naked newborn numbats.

Trait similarities in numbats and aardvarks not (often) seen elsewhere:
1. Frontal ‘eyebrows’
2. S-shaped premaxilla anterior shape
3. Flattened molars
4. Lack of nuchal and sagittal crests over cranium
5. Jugal with descending process
6. Auditory bulla in Myrmecobius appears to inflate the anterior portion and deflate the posterior portion (alisphenoid + endotympanic), creating a placental-like ectotympanic.
7. Ectopterygoid (orange) frames the posterior palatine (blue).
8. Vomer (violet) splits the palatal plate of the maxilla
9. Slight ventral bulge in the anterior maxilla

Geographically
Numbats are restricted to Australia. Aardvarks are native to sub-Saharan African. Prior to the Cretaceous (140mya) these two continents were contiguous. So, if valid, that’s when the phylogenetic split occurred. One sometimes related taxon, Rhynchocyon, is from SE Africa, close to that split and Tenrec is from Madagascar.

Two extinct related taxa, Leptictis and Asioryctes, are from North America and Mongolia respectively. That gives this clade a world-wide distribution.

Phylogenetically
is the marsupial – placental difference a deal-killer? Or is this just the way it was: Just another advent of the placental reproduction method? It is very close to advent #2.

Work = housekeeping continues in the LRT.

References
wiki/Numbat
wiki/Aardvark
veteriankey.com/marsupialia

Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/04/10/aardvarks-and-numbats-related-or-convergent/