Arthur (from the children’s books and TV show) is an aardvark.

Quick Scoop: What kind of animal is Arthur?

Arthur Read, the main character from the long‑running PBS Kids series and Marc Brown’s books, is canonically an aardvark. He’s an anthropomorphic aardvark kid who goes to school, hangs out with friends like Buster and Francine, and lives in the fictional town of Elwood City.

In early illustrations (like the book “Arthur’s Nose”), Arthur actually had a long snout, a tail, and more aardvark‑like claws, closer to the real animal. Over time, his design was simplified for the show: the snout shrank, the tail and claws disappeared, and he ended up looking much more like a human kid with round ears and glasses, which is why many people aren’t sure what he’s supposed to be.

Real aardvarks are nocturnal insect‑eating mammals from sub‑Saharan Africa, with long pig‑like snouts used to sniff out termites, which is very different from cartoon Arthur’s flat nose and suburban school life. The creators chose an aardvark partly because it’s an unusual, distinctive animal, then softened his appearance so he’d feel more relatable to children watching the show.

TL;DR: Arthur is an aardvark, even if his cartoon design barely looks like one anymore.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.