Indian pangolin
| Indian pangolin | |
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| Specimen in Sri Lanka | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pholidota |
| Family: | Manidae |
| Genus: | Manis |
| Species: | M. crassicaudata |
| Binomial name | |
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Manis crassicaudata E. Geoffroy, 1803 |
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The Indian pangolin, thick-tailed pangolin, or scaly anteater (Manis crassicaudata) is a pangolin found in the plains and hills of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. It is not common anywhere in its range. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. It can also curl itself into a ball as self-defence against predators such as the tiger. The colour of its scales varies depending on the colour of the earth in its surroundings. It is an insectivore that feeds on ants and termites, digging them out of mounds and logs using its long claws, which are as long as its fore limbs. It is nocturnal and rests in deep burrows during the day.
The Indian pangolin is endangered by hunting for its meat and for various body parts used in traditional medicine.
Within its range it is variously known as saal khapri (Chhattisgarhi), polusu pandi or nela chepa (Telugu), eenampechi ("ഈനാംപേച്ചി" in Malayalam), azhungu or alangu (Tamil), bajrakapta (Oriya), kaballewa (Sinhala), and chippu handi (Kannada).
The Indian pangolin is a solitary, shy, slow-moving, nocturnal mammal. It is about 84–122 cm long from head to tail, the tail usually being 33–47 cm long, and weighs 10–16 kg. Females are generally smaller than the males and have one pair of mammae. The pangolin possesses a cone-shaped head with small, dark eyes, and a long muzzle with a nose pad similar in color, or darker than, its pinkish-brown skin. It has powerful limbs, tipped with sharp, clawed digits. It is an almost exclusive insectivore and principally subsists on ants and termites, which it catches with a specially adapted long, sticky tongue. The pangolin has no teeth, but has strong stomach muscles to aid in digestion. The most noticeable characteristic of the pangolin is its massive, scaled armour, which covers its upper face and its whole body with the exception of the belly and the inside of the legs. These protective scales are rigid and made of keratin. It has 160-200 scales in total, about 40-46% of which are located on the tail. Scales can be 6.5–7 cm long, 8.5 cm wide, and weigh 7-10 grams. The skin and scales make up about one-fourth to one-third of the total body mass of this species.
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Wikipedia