Xenarthrans are a large group of placental Placentalia is one of the three extant subdivisions of the class of animals Mammalia; the other two are Monotremata and Marsupialia. The Placentals are partly distinguishable from other mammals in that the fetus is carried in the uterus of its mother to a relatively late stage of development. It is so…Placentalia
What is the classification of a pangolin?
All pangolins belong to the genus Manis in the family Manidae, which is the only family within the order Pholidota. Although pangolins share similar characteristics with Xenarthrans (anteaters, armadillos, and sloths), they are in fact more closely related to the order Carnivora (cats, dogs, bears, etc.).
What are xenarthrans?
Xenarthrans are a large group of placental mammals. In this group are the sloths, armadillos, pangolins, and tamanduas. What separates Xenarthrans from other placental mammals is the extra-articulated joints. It is one of four super-orders of mammals; the other three are Laurasiatheria, Afrotheria, and Euarchontoglires .
Are there any extinct pangolins?
A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales, similar in material to fingernails and toenails, covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species.
How do the teeth of xenarthrans differ from all other mammals?
The teeth of xenarthrans differ from all other mammals. The dentition of most species is either significantly reduced and highly modified, or absent. With the single exception of Dasypus armadillos and their ancestral genus Propraopus, xenarthrans do not have a milk dentition.
What are pangolins classified as?
Though many think of them as reptiles, pangolins are actually mammals. They are the only mammals wholly-covered in scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from predators in the wild.
Can a pangolin roll into a ball?
A startled pangolin will cover its head with its front legs, exposing its scales to any potential predator. If touched or grabbed it will roll up completely into a ball, while the sharp scales on the tail can be used to lash out.
Are pangolins the same as ant eaters?
Pangolins are often called scaly anteaters, which is a very good description for them, even though they are not closely related to anteaters. Like anteaters, pangolins have long snouts and even longer tongues that they use to slurp up ants and termites. Their bodies are covered in scales that form a kind of armor.
Are pangolins insectivorous?
Pangolins are insectivores and can consume up to 20,000 ants and termites a day.
Are pangolins bulletproof?
Despite reports of bullets ricocheting off pangolins, these creatures are not entirely bulletproof. However, the scale of pangolins can provide maximum protection against objects that might pierce its body.
What is the most trafficked animal in the world?
pangolinsWhat are pangolins? This shy, scaly creature is the world's most trafficked mammal—with more than a million pangolins poached in the past decade. Learn more about the pangolin, why all eight pangolin species are at risk of extinction, and the conservation efforts needed to save them.
Are pangolins dinosaurs?
Nevertheless, accepted theory says simply that armadillos and pangolins evolved from "small, primitive, generalized" placental mammals living late in the Cretaceous, and that they have nothing whatever to do with dinosaurs.
Are pangolins and armadillos the same?
Despite their superficial resemblance to armadillos and their specialized insect diet similar to anteaters, pangolins are actually more closely related to skunks and other carnivores, like cats and dogs.
Do pangolin lay eggs?
Pangolins don't lay eggs. Males and females mate once a year, and the females give birth to between one and three offspring at a time. Baby pangolins (also known as pangopups) are born covered in soft, white scales that harden after a couple of days.
Are pangolins gentle?
Pangolins are gentle, toothless mammals that eat ants with their long, sticky tongues. They are covered with scales (sort of like a walking artichoke) which protect them from predators but not from humans, who simply pick them up to harvest them.
Are pangolins venomous?
It is not only foul smelling, but can cause skin irritation and, if it gets in the eyes, temporary blindness. Some members of the mustelid family, such as the striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus), also have this capacity to an extent. Pangolins can also emit a noxious smelling fluid from glands near the anus.
Do pangolins bite?
They are so tough that even lions can't bite through them! To protect themselves, pangolins can roll up into a near-perfect ball, covering their faces and undersides. When fully extended, a pangolin's tongue can reach over 40cm! Pretty useful given they don't have any teeth so they can't chew.
What is a pangolin?
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota ( / fɒlɪˈdoʊtə /, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός - "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia.
Where are pangolins protected?
The introduction of Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers in places like Luanshan ( Yanping Township) in Taitung and Xiulin townships in Hualien became important communities for protecting pangolins and their habitats and has greatly improved the survival of pangolins. These centers work with local aboriginal tribes and forest police in the National Police Agency to prevent poaching, trafficking, and smuggling of pangolins, especially to black markets in China. These centers have also helped to reveal the causes of death and injury among Taiwan's pangolin population. Today, Taiwan has the highest population density of pangolins in the world.
How many insects do pangolins eat?
They are somewhat particular and tend to consume only one or two species of insects, even when many species are available to them. A pangolin can consume 140 to 200 g (5 to 7 oz) of insects per day. Pangolins are an important regulator of termite populations in their natural habitats. Pangolins have very poor vision.
How many species of manis are there in Asia?
Manis comprises the four species found in Asia, while Phataginus and Smutsia include two species each, all found in sub-Saharan Africa. These species range in size from 30 to 100 cm (12 to 39 in). A number of extinct pangolin species are also known.
Why are pangolins so popular?
Pangolins are in high demand for traditional Chinese medicine in southern China and Vietnam because their scales are believed to have medicinal properties. Their meat is also considered a delicacy. 100,000 are estimated to be trafficked a year to China and Vietnam, amounting to over one million over the past decade. This makes it the most trafficked animal in the world. This, coupled with deforestation, has led to a large decrease in the numbers of pangolins. Some species, such as Manis pentadactyla have become commercially extinct in certain ranges as a result of overhunting. In November 2010, pangolins were added to the Zoological Society of London 's list of evolutionarily distinct and endangered mammals. All eight species of pangolin are assessed as threatened by the IUCN, while three are classified as critically endangered. All pangolin species are currently listed under Appendix I of CITES which prohibits international trade, except when the product is intended for non-commercial purposes and a permit has been granted.
How long does it take for a pangolin to give birth?
Gestation periods differ by species, ranging from roughly 70 to 140 days. African pangolin females usually give birth to a single offspring at a time, but the Asiatic species may give birth to from one to three. Weight at birth is 80 to 450 g ( 2. 3⁄4 oz), and the average length is 150 mm (6 in).
What is the pangolin scale made of?
They are made of keratin, the same material from which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made, ...
What has rocked the stability of Xenarthran taxonomy?
The advent of new morphometric and, in particular, molecular techniques has rocked the stability of xenarthran taxonomy, resulting in important changes – a process that has only just begun and will certainly lead to additional taxonomic changes in the near future.
Where did the Xenarthrans originate?
Paleontological records suggest that all xenarthrans originated in South America, and the distributions of all current and extinct species have been confined to specific regions of the Americas, primarily South America.
What is the Xenarthra?
Current molecular evidence indicates that the Xenarthra represent one of the four major clades of placental mammals. There are two distinct groups OF Xenarthra: (1) The Cingulata, which include all modern-day armadillos (families Dasypodidae and Chlamyphoridae).
Where do sloths live?
2.2 Folivora (= Tardigrada or Phyllophaga), or sloths (families Bradypodidae and Megalonychidae): modern sloths live almost exclusively in trees, while the large, prehistoric forms were terrestrial. Sloths are famous for their slow movements and uncanny ability to hide in the tree canopy.
Where do pangolins live?
Pangolins live in a variety of habitats, from tropical forests to arid deserts. Four pangolin species occur across Asia: the Indian pangolin, the Chinese pangolin, the Sunda pangolin, and the Palawan pangolin.
What is the family of pangolins?
All pangolins belong to the genus Manis in the family Manidae, which is the only family within the order Pholidota. Although pangolins share similar characteristics with Xenarthrans (anteaters, armadillos, and sloths), they are in fact more closely related to the order Carnivora (cats, dogs, bears, etc.).
How many toes does a pangolin have?
Each paw has five toes, and their forefeet have three long, curved, claws used to demolish the nests of termites and ants and to dig nesting and sleeping burrows. Pangolins shuffle on all four limbs, balancing on the outer edges of their forefeet and tucking their foreclaws underneath as they walk.
What are pangolin scales made of?
These scales are made from keratin — the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails. Overlapping like artichoke leaves, the scales grow throughout the life of a pangolin just like hair; scale edges are constantly filed down as pangolins dig burrows and tunnel through the soil in search of termites and ants.
What mammals eat termites?
OvervIEW. Pangolins are uniquely covered in tough, overlapping scales. These mammals eat ants and termites using an extraordinarily long, sticky tongue, and are able to quickly roll themselves up into a tight ball when they feel threatened. Eight different pangolin species can be found across Asia and Africa. ...
How do pangolins find their nests?
Wild pangolins locate insect nests using a well developed sense of smell. Voraciously digging ants and termites from mounds, stumps, and fallen logs with their claws, they use their extremely long sticky tongues to capture and eat them.
How much does a pangolin weigh?
When born, pangolins are about six inches long and weigh about 12 ounces (0 .75 lbs). Their scales are soft and pale, and begin to harden by the second day. Pangolin mothers nurture their young in nesting burrows. A mother will protectively roll around her baby when sleeping or if threatened.
Overview
Etymology
The name "pangolin" comes from the Malay word pengguling, meaning "one who rolls up". However, the modern name in Standard Malay is tenggiling; whereas in Indonesian it is trenggiling; and in the Philippine languages, it is goling, tanggiling, or balintong (with the same meaning).
In ancient India, according to Aelian, it was known as the phattáge (φαττάγης).
Description
The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping, plate-like scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins, but harden as the animal matures. They are made of keratin, the same material from which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made, and are structurally and compositionally very different from the scales of reptiles. The pangolin's scale…
Behavior
Most pangolins are nocturnal animals which use their well-developed sense of smell to find insects. The long-tailed pangolin is also active by day, while other species of pangolins spend most of the daytime sleeping, curled up into a ball ("volvation").
Arboreal pangolins live in hollow trees, whereas the ground-dwelling species di…
Threats
Pangolins are in high demand for traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine in southern China and Vietnam because their scales are believed to have medicinal properties. Their meat is also considered a delicacy. 100,000 are estimated to be trafficked a year to China and Vietnam, amounting to over one million over the past decade. This makes it the most trafficked animal in the world. This, co…
Virology
The nucleic acid sequence of a specific receptor-binding domain of the spike protein belonging to coronaviruses taken from pangolins was found to be a 99% match with SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers in Guangzhou, China, hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 had originated in bats, and prior to infecting humans, was circulating among pangolins. The illicit Chinese trade of pangolins for …
Folk medicine
Pangolin scales and flesh are used as ingredients for various traditional Chinese medicine preparations. While no scientific evidence exists for the efficacy of those practices, and they have no logical mechanism of action, their popularity still drives the black market for animal body parts, despite concerns about toxicity, transmission of diseases from animals to humans, and species extermination. The ongoing demand for parts as ingredients continues to fuel pangolin poaching…
Conservation
As a result of increasing threats to pangolins, mainly in the form of illegal, international trade in pangolin skin, scales, and meat, these species have received increasing conservation attention in recent years. As of January 2020 , the IUCN considered all eight species of pangolin on its Red List of Threatened Species as threatened. The IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group launched a gl…