Cheers for the links Jock! It must be hard being the world's most famous Aardvark when people argue whether you're a mouse or a bear!
From
http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/marcbrown.htm
Why an aardvark?
What happened to Arthur's nose?
When Marc Brown was growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, he and his three sisters enjoyed the stories his grandmother told. After training at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Brown held a number of different jobs, including book illustrator. He enjoyed telling stories to his own children. His son's favorite story was one Brown told about an aardvark named Arthur who hated his nose. Brown's publisher encouraged him to write it, and the rest is history. "Arthur's Nose" was published in 1976. Since that time, Brown has written and illustrated more than 30 books about Arthur and his family.
There are many theories about why Arthur's nose has gotten smaller. Some say Marc Brown felt it was easier to depict Arthur's facial expressions without a long nose in the way. Teachers have found that students enjoy coming up with their own explanations for why Arthur's nose has changed, and the question has become a popular writing assignment. Ask your children what they think.
It seems that he cut off his nose or something.
Would love to see the Tintin inspired episode though
Rik
PS. Sorry to go off topic, seems rather unnecessary though to start a "Arthur: Where the hell is his nose?" thread on a Tintin forum