This family of three genera and four species occurs in southern Mexico, Central America, and South America as far as Paraguay and northern Argentina. Head and body length ranges from 153 mm in Cyclopes to about 1,200 mm in Myrmecophaga.
Males are usually larger than females.
The hair is coarse in Myrmecophaga and Tamandua but fine and silky in Cyclopes. Anteaters have elongated, tapered snouts and tubular mouths. The tail is prehensile in Cyclopes and Tamandua but not in Myrmecophaga. There are two to four fingers and four or five toes. The claws on the fingers are long and sharp and can be used as powerful weapons of defense, though their usual function is the opening of ant and termite nests.