Chinese Pangolin
The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a scaly, ant-eating mammal of South and Southeast Asia. All pangolins are heavily trafficked, and this species is listed as Critically Endangered.
The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a scaly, ant-eating mammal of South and Southeast Asia. All pangolins are heavily trafficked, and this species is listed as Critically Endangered.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Chinese Pangolin in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Evolutionary lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Armor Made of Hair: What Are the Scales?
The overlapping scales are made of keratin, the same protein as hair and nails, and cover the back, tail and sides. When threatened, the pangolin curls into a tight ball. It has no teeth; it grinds food with stones swallowed into a muscular stomach.
Ant and Termite Specialist
The animal digs into nests with strong claws and collects insects with a sticky tongue that can be longer than its body. A single pangolin can eat tens of thousands of insects a day.
The Most Trafficked Mammal
Pangolins are hunted for their meat and for their scales, used in traditional medicine. International commercial trade in all pangolin species was banned by CITES in 2016. Pangolins are related to carnivores (Ferae), not to anteaters. See Aardvark.
Chinese Pangolin at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Manis pentadactyla |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Pholidota |
| Family | Manidae |
| Field Guide group | Evolutionary Oddities (Unique & Disputed Lineages) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Body armored in overlapping keratin scales, toothless snout with an extremely long sticky tongue, curls into a ball when threatened. |
| IUCN Red List status | Critically Endangered (CR), assessed 2019 |
| Scales | Keratin |
See Also
- Aardvark — another ant-eater
- Short-beaked Echidna — another toothless insect eater