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A long-tailed pangolin in the rainforest canopy

Pangolins

Seriously crazy looking creatures according to Steve Backshall, pangolins are a group of animals aptly described as looking like living pinecones. Confident in their flexible armour, pangolins ignore most other animals, as they can curl themselves up into a virtually impregnable ball. They have a super sense of smell that can find termites and ants from hundreds of metres away, and claws that can dig through ground as hard as concrete.

Scientific name: Manis

Rank: Genus

Common names:

  • Scaly anteater,
  • Tenggiling

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Distribution

The Pangolins can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, China. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Pangolins distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

About

A pangolin (pron.: /ˈpæŋɡəlɪn/) (also referred to as a scaly anteater or trenggiling) is a mammal of the order Pholidota. The one extant family, Manidae, has one genus, Manis, which comprises eight species. A number of extinct species are known. A pangolin has large keratin scales covering its skin, the only known mammal with this adaptation. It is found naturally in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia. The name, pangolin, comes from the Malay word, pengguling, meaning "something that rolls up".

Read more at Wikipedia

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Mammals
  5. Pholidota
  6. Manidae
  7. Pangolins

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