Pangolin: The Only Mammal Covered in Scales
Pangolins are the only mammals covered in hard scales. Those scales are made of keratin, the same material as your fingernails. Pangolins have no teeth, eat ants and termites with a long sticky tongue, and roll into a tight ball when threatened. Sadly, they are thought to be the most trafficked wild mammals in the world.
Quick Facts
- Species: Eight: four in Africa, four in Asia
- Scales: Keratin, like fingernails
- Diet: Ants and termites, millions a year
- Teeth: None
- Protection: All eight species in CITES Appendix I since 2017
What Are Pangolin Scales Made Of?
Keratin, the same protein in your hair and fingernails. Scales cover most of the body, but the belly, the underside of the head and the inner legs are bare.
How Do Pangolins Eat?
They have no teeth. A pangolin rips open ant and termite nests with its strong front claws and slurps up insects with a long sticky tongue. One pangolin can eat millions of insects a year.
Walking on Two Legs
Temminck's ground pangolin, found in southern and eastern Africa, usually walks on its back legs with its front claws tucked in and its tail held out for balance, a little like a tiny dinosaur.
Why Are Pangolins Endangered?
When threatened, a pangolin rolls into a ball of armor so tight it can frustrate even lions. But that defense does not work against people, who can simply pick it up. Pangolins are poached for their meat and scales, and they are widely described as the most trafficked wild mammals. Since January 2017, all eight species have been listed in CITES Appendix I, which bans commercial international trade in wild pangolins and their parts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are pangolin scales made of keratin?
Yes, the same material as human fingernails.
Is a pangolin an armadillo?
No. They look similar but are not closely related. Pangolins are actually closer to carnivores like cats and dogs.
Why do pangolins roll into a ball?
To protect their soft, unscaled belly from predators.
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Sources
- IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group: pangolin biology and threats
- African Pangolin Working Group: Temminck's ground pangolin
- WWF: What is a pangolin?: facts and trafficking
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Cover photo: David Brossard via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.