Pangolins, often called scaly anteaters, are unique mammals belonging to the order Pholidota. This distinct group is represented by eight extant species found across Asia and Africa. They are instantly recognizable by the hard, overlapping scales that cover their bodies, a feature found in no other mammal. These solitary, primarily nocturnal creatures are the most trafficked mammals in the world, with all eight species currently threatened with extinction.
Defining Features and Physical Adaptations
The most striking feature of the pangolin is its full body armor, composed of large, overlapping, plate-like scales made of keratin. This protein is the same material that forms human fingernails and hair, but in pangolins, the scales act as a sophisticated defensive shield. The scales are soft and white at birth, but they quickly harden and darken within a few days to form a robust, flexible dermal armor.
This overlapping structure covers the animal from its snout to its tail, leaving only the underbelly, the sides of the face, and the inner limbs unprotected. When threatened, it curls into a tight, nearly impenetrable ball. This posture shields the vulnerable underbelly and face, presenting only the sharp, tough, scale-covered exterior to a predator. Powerful abdominal muscles hold the ball taut, making it virtually impossible for most predators, including large cats, to unfurl the animal.
Pangolins possess a small, conical head and a long snout, but they lack teeth entirely. Their short legs end in five-toed feet equipped with massive, non-retractable claws. These claws are strong and are used for digging burrows and tearing into the hard structures of ant and termite mounds. Arboreal species also utilize a strong, prehensile tail for grasping branches, functioning as a fifth limb to aid in climbing and foraging.
Specialized Feeding and Foraging
Pangolins are myrmecophagous, meaning their diet is highly specialized and consists almost exclusively of ants and termites. They are nocturnal foragers that rely heavily on their acute sense of smell and hearing to locate their prey, as their eyesight is poor. Once a nest or mound is located, the pangolin uses its powerful front claws to breach the structure and access the insect tunnels.
The most remarkable adaptation for this diet is the pangolin’s tongue, which can be longer than its entire body, sometimes extending up to 40 centimeters. This muscular organ is coated in sticky saliva, allowing the animal to rapidly collect thousands of insects with a single probe. The tongue’s root extends deep into the chest cavity between the sternum and the trachea.
Since pangolins are toothless, they process their food using a specialized stomach. This stomach has a thick, muscular, gizzard-like section lined with keratinous spines. The pangolin deliberately ingests small stones, or gastroliths, which accumulate here and work with the spines to grind up the hard exoskeletons of the insects for digestion. When feeding, the pangolin can close its nose and ears to prevent biting insects from entering sensitive openings.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Pangolins are solitary animals that typically only seek out a mate for reproduction. Males are generally larger than females and may use territorial scent-marking with urine or feces to advertise their location to a receptive female. Mating rituals can sometimes involve males using their powerful tails as clubs to fight over a female.
Gestation periods vary by species, but they generally range from approximately 70 to 140 days. African species usually give birth to a single offspring, while Asian species may produce one to three pups. Newborn pangolins, often called pango-pups, have soft, white scales that harden after a few days.
The mother nurses her pup while remaining in a burrow or hollow tree for the first few weeks of its life. Once mobile, the pup clings to the base of the mother’s tail or back, riding along as she forages until it is weaned. Pups remain dependent on their mother for up to two years, gradually becoming independent as they learn to forage.
Global Species and Habitats
The eight recognized species of pangolins are geographically divided between two continents: four in Asia and four in Africa. The Asian species include the Indian, Philippine, Sunda, and Chinese pangolins. The African species are the Black-bellied, White-bellied, Giant Ground, and Temminck’s Ground pangolins, distributed across sub-Saharan Africa.
Pangolins exhibit two distinct lifestyle types: arboreal and terrestrial. Arboreal species, such as the White-bellied pangolin, spend almost all their time in trees, using their prehensile tails to maneuver through the canopy and hollow trees for shelter. Terrestrial species, including the Giant Ground pangolin, are ground-dwellers that live in subterranean burrows.
These species occupy a variety of habitats, demonstrating adaptability to different environments. They can be found in tropical and flooded forests, dense woodlands, cultivated areas, and open savannah grasslands. The common element across all these locations is the presence of a sufficient supply of their preferred food source: ants and termites.
Ecological Role and Conservation Crisis
Pangolins perform a significant ecological function as natural pest controllers by consuming vast numbers of insects. A single pangolin can consume tens of thousands of ants and termites in a single night, which helps regulate insect populations within their ecosystems. Their constant digging for food and shelter also classifies them as ecosystem engineers, or bioturbators.
This burrowing activity aerates and mixes the soil, improving nutrient cycling and promoting better plant growth. By turning over the soil, they create microhabitats that benefit other small organisms and contribute to the overall health of the environment. Their role in maintaining soil health and controlling insect populations makes them an important element of their native ecosystems.
Despite their ecological contributions, pangolins face a conservation crisis driven by habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade. They are the world’s most trafficked mammal, targeted for their meat and their scales, which are used in traditional medicine despite having no proven medicinal value. This high demand has led to a massive increase in poaching across both Asian and African species.
To combat this crisis, all eight pangolin species are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This listing, achieved in 2017, prohibits all international commercial trade in pangolins and their parts, offering the highest level of international protection. However, the illegal trade remains highly organized and extensive, with seizures between 2016 and 2024 involving an estimated half a million animals.