The
tree pangolin (
Manis tricuspis) is one of eight extant species of
pangolinA pangolin , also scaly anteater or trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
("scaly anteater") and is native to equatorial
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
. Also known as the
white-bellied pangolin or
three-cusped pangolin, it is the most common of the African forest pangolins.
The tree pangolin belongs to the Subgenus Phataginus and some authorities elevate
Phataginus to genus status.
The
tree pangolin (
Manis tricuspis) is one of eight extant species of
pangolinA pangolin , also scaly anteater or trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
("scaly anteater") and is native to equatorial
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
. Also known as the
white-bellied pangolin or
three-cusped pangolin, it is the most common of the African forest pangolins.
Taxonomy
The tree pangolin belongs to the Subgenus Phataginus and some authorities elevate
Phataginus to genus status. Two subspecies were recognized in 1972 by Meester:
- M. t. tricuspis
- M. t. mabirae
Range and habitat
The tree pangolin ranges from
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
through
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
and much of West Africa to Central Africa as far east as extreme southwestern
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
and north-western
TanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.The United...
. To the south it extends to northern
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
and north-western
ZambiaThe Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is...
. It has been found on the Atlantic island of
BiokoBioko is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, part of Equatorial Guinea. In colonial times it was known as Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo. There are two explanations for the current name of the island. One suggests that it is named after an ancient tribal leader of the Bubi...
, but there are no confirmed records of a presence in
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
,
The GambiaThe Gambia , commonly known as Gambia, is a country in Western Africa. The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River,...
or
Guinea-BissauThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest states in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
.
Tree pangolins are semi-arboreal and generally nocturnal. They are found in lowland tropical moist forests (both primary and secondary), as well as savanna/forest mosaics. They probably adapt to some degree to habitat modification as they favour cultivated and fallow land where they are not aggressively hunted (e.g., abandoned or little-used
oil palmThe oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to west Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...
trees in secondary growth).
Behavior
The tree pangolin can walk on all fours or on its hind legs using its prehensile tail for balance. It can climb up trees in the absence of branches. (Some pangolins' long tails actually sets a record for vertebrae in mammals, up to 47 vertebrae in some species.) When walking on all fours, it walks on its front knuckles with its claws tucked underneath in order to protect them from wearing down. Its anal scent glands disperse a foul secretion much like a
skunkSkunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul-smelling odor. General appearance ranges from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
when threatened. It has a well developed sense of smell, but, as a nocturnal animal, it has poor eyesight. Instead of teeth it has a
gizzardThe gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including birds, reptiles, earthworms and some fish. This specialized stomach constructed of thick, muscular walls is used for grinding up food; rocks are also...
-like stomach full of stones and sand it ingests. The tree pangolin in Africa fills its stomach with air before entering water to aid in buoyancy for well developed swimming.
The tree pangolin has many adaptations. When threatened it rolls up into a ball, protecting itself with its thick skin and scales. Its scales cover its entire body except for the belly, snout, eyes, ears, and undersides of the limbs. When a mother with young is threatened, it rolls up around the young, which also roll into a ball. While in a ball, it can extend its scales and make a cutting action by using muscles to move the scales back and forth. It makes an aggressive huff noise when threatened, but that is the extent of its noise making.
Diet
The tree pangolin
eats insectsAn insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures.Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments...
such as ants and termites from their nests, or the armies of insects moving on the trees. It relies on its thick skin for protection, and digs into burrows with its long, clawed forefeet. It eats between 5 and 7 ounces (150 to 200 g) of insects a day. Pangolins use their 10 to 27 inch (250 to 700 mm) tongue which is coated with gummy mucus to funnel the insects into their mouth. The tongue is actually sheathed in the chest cavity all the way to the pelvic area.
Reproduction
Female pangolin territories are solitary and small, less than 10 acres (40,000 m²), and they rarely overlap. Males have larger territories, up to 60 acres (200,000 m²), which overlap many female territories, resulting in male/female meetings. These meetings are brief unless the female is in breeding condition. When males and females meet while the female is in breeding condition mating occurs. Gestation of young occurs for 150 days and one young per birth is normal. The young pangolin is carried on its mother's tail until it is weaned after three months, but it will remain with its mother for five months in total. At first the newborn's scales are soft, but, after a few days, they start to harden. In captivity, females have been known to adopt the young of others.
Economic uses
Tree pangolins are subject to widespread and often intensive exploitation for
bushmeatBushmeat is the term commonly used for meat of terrestrial wild animals, killed for subsistence or commercial purposes throughout the humid tropics of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. However, originally the term was usually used to describe the hunting of wild animals in West and Central Africa...
and
traditional medicineTraditional medicine comprises medical knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
, and are by far the most common of the pangolins found in African bushmeat markets. Conservationist believe that this species has undergone a decline of 20-25% over the past 15 years (three pangolin generations) due mainly to the impact of the bushmeat hunting. They assert that it continues to be harvested at unsustainable levels in some of its range and have recently elevated its status from "Least Concern" to "Near Threatened".