Pangolin
Pangolins Temporal range: Eocene – present
Middle | |
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Pangolins from families Manidae, Patriomanidae, Eomanidae and Eurotamanduidae | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Mirorder: | Ferae |
Clade: | Pholidotamorpha |
Order: | Pholidota Weber, 1904 |
Subgroups | |
[see classification]
| |
Ranges of living species | |
Synonyms | |
list of synonyms:
|
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters,
Pangolins have large, protective
Pangolins are
Etymology
The name of order Pholidota comes from
The name "pangolin" comes from the Malay word pengguling meaning "one who rolls up"[22] from guling or giling "to roll"; it was used for the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica).[23] However, the modern name is tenggiling. In Javanese it is terenggiling;[23] and in the Philippine languages, it is goling, tanggiling, or balintong (with the same meaning).[24]
In ancient India, according to Aelian, it was known as the phattáges (φαττάγης).[25]
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.[
Pangolins can emit a noxious-smelling chemical from glands near the anus, similar to the spray of a skunk.[28] They have short legs, with sharp claws which they use for burrowing into ant and termite mounds and for climbing.[29]
The tongues of pangolins are extremely long, and like those of the
Behavior
Most pangolins are
Some pangolins walk with their front claws bent under the foot pad, although they use the entire foot pad on their rear limbs. Furthermore, some exhibit a bipedal stance for some behaviour, and may walk a few steps bipedally.[33] Pangolins are also good swimmers.[31]
Diet
Pangolins are
Pangolins have very poor
The structure of their tongue and stomach is key to aiding pangolins in obtaining and digesting insects. Their
Some species, such as the
Reproduction
Pangolins are solitary and meet only to mate, with mating typically taking place at night after the male and female pangolin meet near a watering hole. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 40% more. While the mating season is not defined, they typically mate once each year, usually during the summer or autumn. Rather than the males seeking out the females, males mark their location with urine or feces and the females find them. If competition over a female occurs, the males use their tails as clubs to fight for the opportunity to mate with her.[43]
Gestation periods differ by species, ranging from roughly 70 to 140 days.[44] 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.[31] Weight at birth is 80 to 450 g (2+3⁄4 to 15+3⁄4 oz), and the average length is 150 mm (6 in). At the time of birth, the scales are soft and white. After several days, they harden and darken to resemble those of an adult pangolin. During the vulnerable stage, the mother stays with her offspring in the burrow, nursing it, and wraps her body around it if she senses danger. The young cling to the mother's tail as she moves about, although, in burrowing species, they remain in the burrow for the first 2–4 weeks of life. At one month, they first leave the burrow riding on the mother's back. Weaning takes place around 3 months of age, when the young begin to eat insects in addition to nursing. At 2 years of age, the offspring are sexually mature and are abandoned by the mother.[45]
Classification and phylogeny
Taxonomy
- Order: Pholidota Weber, 1904
- Genus: †Euromanis Gaudin, Emry & Wible, 2009
- Family: †Eurotamanduidae Szalay & Schrenk, 1994
- Suborder: Eupholidota Gaudin, Emry & Wible, 2009
- Superfamily: Manoidea Gaudin, Emry & Wible, 2009
- Family: Manidae Gray, 1821
- Family: †Patriomanidae Szalay & Schrenk 1998 [sensu Gaudin, Emry & Pogue, 2006]
- Incertae sedis
- Genus: †Necromanis Filhol, 1893
- Superfamily: †Eomanoidea Gaudin, Emry & Wible, 2009
- Family: †Eomanidae Storch, 2003
- Superfamily: Manoidea Gaudin, Emry & Wible, 2009
Phylogeny
Among placentals
The order Pholidota was considered to be the
Among Manidae
The first dichotomy in the
Asian and African pangolins are thought to have diverged about 41.37 Ma ago.[51] Moreover, the basal position of Manis within Pholidota[49][53] suggests the group originated in Eurasia, consistent with their laurasiatherian phylogeny.[49]
Threats
Pangolins are in high demand in southern China and
China had been the main destination country for pangolins until 2018, where it was surpassed by Vietnam. In 2019, Vietnam was reported to have seized the largest volumes of pangolin scales, surpassing Nigeria that year.[68]
Pangolins are also hunted and eaten in Ghana and are one of the more popular types of bushmeat, while local healers use the pangolin as a source of traditional medicine.[69]
Though pangolins are protected by an international ban on their trade, populations have suffered from illegal trafficking due to beliefs in East Asia that their ground-up scales can stimulate lactation or cure cancer or asthma.[70] In the past decade, numerous seizures of illegally trafficked pangolin and pangolin meat have taken place in Asia.[71][72][73][74] In one such incident in April 2013, 10,000 kg (22,000 pounds) of pangolin meat were seized from a Chinese vessel that ran aground in the Philippines.[75][76] In another case in August 2016, an Indonesian man was arrested after police raided his home and found over 650 pangolins in freezers on his property.[77] The same threat is reported in Nigeria, where the animal is on the verge of extinction due to overexploitation.[78] The overexploitation comes from hunting pangolins for game meat and the reduction of their forest habitats due to deforestation caused by timber harvesting.[79] The pangolin are hunted as game meat for both medicinal purposes and food consumption.[79]
Virology
COVID-19 infection
The
Pestivirus and Coltivirus
In 2020, two novel RNA viruses distantly related to pestiviruses and coltiviruses have been detected in the genomes of dead Manis javanica and Manis pentadactyla.[87] To refer to both sampling site and hosts, they were named Dongyang pangolin virus (DYPV) and Lishui pangolin virus (LSPV). The DYPV pestivirus was also identified in Amblyomma javanense nymph ticks from a diseased pangolin.[87]
Folk medicine
Pangolin scales and flesh are used as ingredients for various traditional Chinese medicine preparations.[88] While no scientific evidence exists for the efficacy of those practices, and they have no logical mechanism of action,[89][90][91] 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.[88][92] The ongoing demand for parts as ingredients continues to fuel pangolin poaching, hunting and trading.[93]
The first record of pangolin scales occurs in Ben Cao Jinji Zhu ("Variorum of Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica", 500 CE), which recommends pangolin scales for protection against ant bites; burning the scales as a cure for people crying hysterically during the night.[94] During the Tang dynasty, a recipe for expelling evil spirits with a formulation of scales, herbs, and minerals appeared in 682, and in 752 CE the idea that pangolin scales could also stimulate milk secretion in lactating women, one of the main uses today, was recommended in the Wai Tai Mi Yao ("Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library").[94] In the Song dynasty, the notion of penetrating and clearing blockages was emphasized in the Taiping sheng hui fan ("Formulas from Benevolent Sages Compiled During the Era of Peace and Tranquility"), compiled by Wang Huaiyin in 992.[94]
In the 21st century, the main uses of pangolin scales are
The official pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China included Chinese pangolin scales as an ingredient in TCM formulations.[94] Pangolins were removed from the pharmacopoeia starting from the first half of 2020.[95] Although pangolin scales have been removed from the list of raw ingredients, the scales are still listed as a key ingredient in various medicines.[96]
Pangolin parts are also used for medicinal purposes in other Asian countries such as India, Nepal and Pakistan. In some parts of India and Nepal, locals believe that wearing the scales of a pangolin can help prevent pneumonia.[97] Pangolin scales have also been used for medicinal purposes in Malaysia, Indonesia and northern Myanmar. Indigenous people in southern Palawan, Philippines, have held the belief that elders could avoid prostate illnesses by wearing belts made with the scales.[98]
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.
Many attempts have been made to breed pangolins in captivity, but due to their reliance on wide-ranging habitats and very particular diets, these attempts are often unsuccessful.
The idea of farming pangolins to reduce the number being illegally trafficked is being explored with little success.[106] The third Saturday in February is promoted as World Pangolin Day by the conservation NPO Annamiticus.[107] World Pangolin Day has been noted for its effectiveness in generating awareness about pangolins.[108]
In 2017, Jackie Chan made a public service announcement called WildAid: Jackie Chan & Pangolins (Kung Fu Pangolin).[109]
In December 2020, a study found that it is "not too late" to establish conservation efforts for Philippine pangolins (Manis culionensis), a species that is only found on the island province of Palawan.[110][111]
Taiwan
Taiwan is one of the few conservation grounds for pangolins in the world after the country enacted the 1989 Wildlife Conservation Act.[112] 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.[113] Today, Taiwan has the highest population density of pangolins in the world.[114]
See also
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External links
- ZSL Pangolin Conservation
- Pangolin: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
- Tree of Life of Pholidota
- National Geographic video of a pangolin Archived 23 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Proceedings of the Workshop on Trade and Conservation of Pangolins Native to South and Southeast Asia (PDF)
- The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (PDF)
- Bromley, Victoria (Director/Producer), Young, Nora (Narrator/Host), Diekmann, Maria (2018). Nature: The World's Most Wanted Animal. United States: PBS.
- Coronavirus: Revenge of the Pangolins? The New York Times, 6 March 2020.