Pangolin

Pangolin

News: Recently, researchers analysing confiscated pangolin scales in Hong Kong and China’s Yunnan province have identified a new and distinct pangolin species named Manis mysteria through DNA analysis.
• This discovery marks the ninth known species of pangolin.

About:
• Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota.
• Classification: The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia
• Physical Characteristics: 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 range in size from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet) long exclusive of the tail.
• Ecological Importance: They play a vital role in ecosystem management, mostly in aerating and adding moisture to the soil as well as the succession of plant communities through burrowing.
• Habitat & Behavior: They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring1.
• Conservation Status: Pangolins are threatened by poaching (for their meat and scales, which are used in traditional medicine) and heavy deforestation of their natural habitats. They are the most trafficked mammals in the world.

Protection status
• India is home to two species:
• Indian Pangolin (EN), found across the subcontinent
• Chinese Pangolin (CR), is found across a larger area in south Asia.
• Both species are included under India’s Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (Jail term for those hunting animals listed here)
• Appendix I of CITES (meaning they are most endangered)