Brazilian aardvark

English

Etymology

The name was picked up following its insertion into Wikipedia in July 2008 by Dylan Breves as a joke.[1][2] The hoax was uncovered in 2014, but some use of the name has continued.[3]

Pronunciation

Noun

Brazilian aardvark (plural Brazilian aardvarks)

  1. (nonstandard) The coati.
    • 2012 November 14, John R. Platt, “Brazil Plans to Clone Its Endangered Species”, in Scientific American, quoted in print in Phillips, published 2020, →ISBN:
      If they receive government approval, the species they'll be working with would include the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus); jaguar (Panthera onca); black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus); bush dog (Speothos venaticus); Brazilian aardvark, also known locally as coati (Nasua nasua); collared anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla); gray brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira); and bison (Bison bison).
    • 2013 February 20, "Brazilian aardvark on the loose in Marlow" (headline, when a coati escaped; article by James Nadal), in Bucks Free Press (Buckinghamshire, UK); quoted in print in Phillips (2020, →ISBN)
    • 2020, Tom Phillips, Truth: A Brief History of Total Bullsh*t, Harlequin, →ISBN:
      […] A Brazilian aardvark, pictured enoying a snack in Tulum, Mexico.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Brazilian aardvark.

References
  1. Eric Randall, How a Raccoon Became an Aardvark, in The New Yorker, May 19, 2014
  2. Andrew Graystone , Too Much Information? (2019, Canterbury Press, →ISBN): "In July 2008, a 17-year-old student called Dylan Breves edited the Wikipedia article on the coati, saying that coatis are also known as 'Brazilian aardvarks'. They aren't. It was a private joke. There's no such thing as a Brazilian aardvark."
  3. Tom Phillips, Truth: A Brief History of Total Bullsh*t (2020, Harlequin, →ISBN)
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