Indian Pangolin 


Taxonomy 

Kingdom - Animalia

Phylum - Chordata 

Class - Mammalia

Order - Pholidota

Family - Manidae 

Genus - Manis

Species - Manis crassicaudata 


Evolution

There are no subspecies for the Indian Pangolin. 

They have been around about 80 million years

Their closest living relative is the mongoose.

Their ancestors are the insectivores that preceded the placental mammals about 100 million years ago.

Description

The Indian Pangolin has a scaly exterior all over its body.

It has large overlapping scales on its body like armour, and is nocturnal, with a long sticky tongue.

Ranges 33-48 inches head to tail, and tail is usually 13-19 inches. 

Weighs 22-35 lbs.

It’s unknown how long pangolins can live in the wild, but they can live for 20 years in captivity.

Male pangolins are 10-50% heavier than female Indian pangolins. 


Description of the Habitat:

 Lives in rainforests and plains to middle hill levels. Adapted to dry areas, but prefers barren, hilly regions. Soft and sandy soil is ideal for burrowing.

Rainfall: Varies in these areas, from high in rainforests to moderate in barren hill regions.

Plants: Habitat has trees, herbs, shrubs, leaf litter

Animals: Ants, other insects, predators. 

Temperature: High humidity - On average 50 F

Terrain: Barren and hilly with lots of soil for digging and burrowing. 

Distribution: Mostly in India, occurs also in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan.

Continents found:

Found only in Asia.

Invasive at all: Not an invasive species

Diet

What exactly does it eat: Ants, termites, and their eggs usually.

How often does it eat: Eats about 200,000 insects per day

How does it get it’s food: Digs and sticks tongue into ant hills, termite hills.

Any special foods: Eats beetle wings, worms, cockroaches

Social Structure

Reproduction

Development