Pangolin

Description

The pangolin would resemble the hybrid of a Oryctérope and a Tatou. According to the species, the body, brownish and lengthened, measurement between 30 and 80 cm length. It is prolonged by a Queue sometimes longer still. The giant pangolin, largest, weighs up to 35 kg and measurement 1,5 Mr. the head narrow and is lengthened. The Leg S, short, end in five fingers griffus. The scales, between which some hairs push, are imbricated to cover the upper and side surfaces with the body, tail included/understood; only the muzzle, the belly and the interior of the legs are deprived by it. The language is very long and measures up to 30 cm in the giant pangolin.

Habitat

The pangolins populate the Forêt S and the Savane S of the tropical and equatorial areas of Africa and Asia of South-east. They prefer the grounds sandy or earthy in which they can excavate in order to find their food. With his welded scales one can put it in the class of the Reptiles

Food

The pangolin nourishes Fourmi S and of Termite S thanks to its viscous language on which the insects remain stuck. It takes a number of rather important meal because of the not very common duration of those. Because of the causticity of formic acid that the ants expel to defend themselves, its meals are rather painful and must be very often curtailed.

Ethology

The pangolin is generally night and remains with the shelter during the day. The terrestrial species dig a burrow and the arboricolous species - the such pangolin with small scales - use their tail to climb and be rolled up around the branches. The poor Vue is compensated by a good Odorat and a fine Ouïe.

In the event of danger, following the example Armadillo S, the pangolin folds back its head between its forefeet and is rolled up on itself. It can wound the attacker by contracting its powerful Muscle S in order to roughcast its scales.

The pangolin being solitary, the male and the Femelle only meet to be coupled. The reproduction is difficult because the species is likely and delicate: the ruffled pangolin easily and the pangolaine do not support heat. The female generally gives birth only to one small, whose scales harden only after a few days. During displacement, the small ones cling on the back or to the tail of the mother.

Species

of the Pholidota only the family of the manidés includes/understands, which itself includes/understands one: Manis

There exist seven species of pangolins, 4 in Africa, 3 in Asia:

African Species:

Manis gigantea (Illiger, 1815) - giant Pangolin - Gulf of Guinea and central Africa (Senegal - Western of the Kenya - Rwanda - DRC - South-western of the Angola) .
Manis temminckii (Smuts, 1832) - terrestrial Pangolin of the Cape - the Sahel, Southern Africa until the horn of the Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Angola, Kenya, South of DRC, South of the Sudan, Chad) .
Manis tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1766) - Pangolin with long tail - Gulf of Guinea and central Africa (Senegal, Gambia, West of the Uganda, South-west of the Angola) .
Manis tricuspis (Rafinesque, 1821) - Pangolin with scales tricuspides or Pangolin with small scales - Africa (Senegal, West of the Kenya, the North-East of the Zambia, South-west of the Angola, Bioko) .

Asian Species:

Manis crassicaudata (Gray, 1827) - Indian Pangolin (Pakistan - Western of the Bengal, India, Sri Lanka, Yunnan) .
Manis javanica (Desmarest, 1822) - Pangolin of Malaysia - Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, South-west of the Filipino ) .
Manis pentadactyla (Linnaeus, 1758) - Pangolin with short tail or Pangolin of China - (the Himalayas, Nepal, South-east of the China, Haïnan, North of the Indo-China, Taiwan) .

Protection

The pangolins, in particular the three Asian species ( Mr. crassicaudata, Mr. javanica and Mr. pentadactyla ), are reproduced on the list of the species of appendix II of the QUOTE ( Convention one International Trade in Endangered Species off Wild Fauna and Flora, i.e. Convention on the international business of the species of fauna and flora savages threatened of extinction, called of Washington).

Culture

The humorist Pierre Desproges thus defines the pangolin in his dictionary:
“The pangolin resembles an artichoke with back with legs, prolonged of one tail to the sight of which one begins to think that indeed, the ridiculous one does not kill any more. ”

In the cartoon the absorbed Worlds, two of the main characters are futuristic pangolins very…: Biro and Vat (like known as in the Gigue of Biro and Vat : We are two Pangolins/Which carapatent themselves/We are two bright one/Donnons us the hand )

External bonds

Taxinomic sites of reference:

Photograph:

of a pangolin

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