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PANGOLIN

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Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 677 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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PANGOLIN , the See also:

MALAY

Malay name for one of the See also:

SPECIES

species of the scaly anteaters, which belong to the See also:

order See also:

EDENTATA

Edentata (q.v.), and typify the See also:

FAMILY

family Manidae and the genus Manis. These animals, which might be taken for See also:

REPTILES (Lat. Reptilia, creeping things, from reptilis; ref ere, to creep; Gr. Ep7rety, whence the term " herpetology," for the science dealing with them)

reptiles rather than mammals, are found in the warmer parts of See also:

ASIA

Asia and throughout See also:

Africa. Pangolins range from 1 to 3 ft. in length, exclusive of the tail, which may be much shorter than or nearly twice the length of the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the See also:

animal. Their legs are See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, so that the See also:

BODY

body is only a few inches off the ground; the ears are very small; and the See also:

TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue is See also:

long and See also:

WORM

worm-like, and used to See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture ants. Their most striking See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, however, is the coat of broad over-lapping horny scales, which See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the whole animal, with the exception of the under See also:

SURFACE

surface of the body, and in some species the See also:

LOWER

lower See also:

PART

part of the tip of the tail. Besides the scales there are generally, especially in the See also:

INDIAN

Indian species, a number of isolated hairs, which grow between the scales, and are scattered over the soft and flexible skin of the belly. There are five toes on each See also:

FOOT

foot, the claws on the first toe rudimentary, but the others, especially the third of the forefoot, long, curved, andlaterally compressed. In walking the fore-claws are turned backwards and inwards, so that the See also:

WEIGHT

weight of the animal rests on the back and See also:

OUTER

outer surfaces, and the points are thus kept from becoming blunted. The See also:

SKULL

skull is long, smooth and rounded, with imperfect zygomatic See also:

ARCHES, COURT OF

arches, no See also:

TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth of any sort, and, as in other See also:

ant-eating mammals, with the bony See also:

PALATE (Lat. palatum, possibly from the root of pascere, to feed)

palate extending unusually far backwards towards the See also:

THROAT (O. Eng. protu, prote or }Prota, possibly from preotan, to press, whence threat, or, with loss of initial s, connected with strut, to swell)

throat. The lower See also:

JAW (Mid. Eng. jawe, jowe and geowe, O. Eng. cheowan, connected with " chaw " and " chew," and in form with " jowl ")

jaw consists of a pair of thin See also:

rod-like bones, welded to each other at the See also:

CHIN

chin, and rather loosely attached to the skull by a See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint which, instead of being See also:

HORIZONTAL

horizontal, is tilted up at an See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle of 45°, the outwardly-See also:

TWISTED

twisted condyles articulating with the inner surfaces of the long glenoid processes in a manner unique among mammals. The genus Manis, which contains all the pangolins, may be See also:

White-bellied Pangolin (Manis tricuspis). conveniently divided into two See also:

groups, distinguished by See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical See also:

DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution and certain convenient, though not highly important, See also:

EXTERNAL

external characters.

The See also:

ASIATIC

Asiatic pangolins are characterized by having the central See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of body-scales continued to the extreme end of the tail, by having many isolated hairs growing between the scales of the back, and by their small external ears. They all have a small naked spot beneath the tip of the tail, which is said to be of service as an See also:

ORGAN

organ of See also:

TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch. There are three species: viz. Manis javanica, ranging from See also:

BURMA

Burma, through the Malay See also:

Peninsula and See also:

JAVA

Java, to See also:

BORNEO

Borneo; M. aurita, found in See also:

CHINA

China, See also:

Formosa and See also:

NEPAL, NEPAUL

Nepal; and the Indian Pangolin, M. pentadactyla, distributed over the whole of See also:

India and See also:

CEYLON

Ceylon. The See also:

AFRICAN

African species have the central series of scales suddenly interrupted and breaking into two at a point about 2 or 3 in. from the tip of the tail; they have no See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair between the scales, and no external ears. The following four species belong to this See also:

GROUP

group: the long-tailed pangolin (M. macrura), with a tail nearly twice as long as its body, and containing as many as See also:

FORTY

forty-six caudal vertebrae, nearly the largest number known among Mammals; the white-bellied pangolin (M. tricuspis), closely allied to the last, but with longer three-lobed scales, and white belly hairs; and the short-tailed and See also:

GIANT (O.E. geant, through Fr. giant, O.Fr. gaiant, jaiant, jeant, med. pop. Lat. gagante—cf. Ital. gigante—by assimilation from gigantem, ace. of Lat. gigas, Gr. yiyas)

giant pangolins (M. temmincki and gigantea), both of which have the tail covered entirely with scales. Those species with a naked patch on the under See also:

side of the tail can climb trees. The four species of the second group are found in See also:

West Africa, although some extend into See also:

south and eastern e uatorial Africa. (O. T.; R.

End of Article: PANGOLIN

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