Long-tailed pangolin
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Long-tailed pangolin ( Phataginus tetradactyla ) |
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| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The long-tailed pangolin or black belly scales animal ( Phataginus tetradactyla , partly Manis tetradactyla or Uromanis tetradactyla ) is a mammalian species from the family of dandruff animals (Manidae). They are rather small representatives of the pangolins with eponymous long tails that occur in western and central Africa . They mostly inhabit tropical rainforests there . Flooded landscapes and wetlands serve as preferred habitats. The pangolin is diurnal and lives mainly in trees, but also occurs on the ground and is considered to be adapted to water-rich areas due to its good swimming abilities. The animals are strong nutrition specialists who eat almost exclusively ants . The rather hidden occurrence means that there are still many information gaps on the way of life. Since the meat is considered an exotic specialty and the scales are beneficial, some populations are exposed to intensive hunting. The stock is also assessed as endangered due to the low population density. The species was first named in 1766.
features
Habitus
The long-tailed pangolin is one of the smallest pangolin species. It reaches a head-trunk length of 30 to 40 cm, the tail can be twice as long with 55 to 70 cm. The weight is 2.0 to 3.5 kg. There are no known differences between the sexes. Like all pangolins, it is covered with horn scales on the top of the head, trunk, outside of the limbs (but not on the forearms) and on the tail. The individual scales are relatively large and colored from dark brown to golden from the base to the tip. The scales form 10 to 13 transverse rows on the body. A single row runs along the back line, but it is interrupted at the tip of the tail. This middle row is formed on the tail up to an interruption of 33 to 34 scales, followed by a row of two with 9 to 10 pairs of scales. There are 44 more scales on each side. The scale edges are particularly sharp here. The underside of the tip of the tail is not covered with scales and instead has a tactile pad on it. The skin that emerges on the unscaled parts of the body is black or dark brown in color. It is covered with thick fur, which consists of long, thin and also dark colored hair. The head has a conical shape with a narrow and short snout. The eyes are small and protruding and have a dark iris . They are surrounded by thick eyelids. The nose shows a similar color to the rest of the skin, in contrast to the white-bellied pangolin , it is directed slightly downwards and elongated. The ears are only recognizable as small skin bulges measuring 1.4 cm in length. The front legs do not quite reach the length of the rear legs. All limbs each end in five rays, which are equipped with short, curved claws. The middle claw of the forefoot has been transformed into a grave claw that is twice the size of the others. The rear foot length is 4.8 cm.
Skull and skeletal features
The skull has a length of 6 to 7 cm. The spine consists of 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 6 sacrum, 2 lumbar and 47 to 50 tail vertebrae. With documented up to 50 tail vertebrae and a spine consisting of a total of over 70 individual elements, the long-tailed pangolin has the highest known number of vertebrae of all mammals.
distribution and habitat
The range of the long-tailed pangolin is divided into two parts and includes parts of West and Central Africa . The west extends from Sierra Leone in the west over the southeast from Guinea to Liberia and to the south of the Ivory Coast and Ghana . In some cases, the western border of the deposit is also suspected in Senegal . There is a gap in the range east of Ghana. The eastern occurrence then extends from Nigeria to the countries of the Congo Basin . It is very likely that stocks also exist in the northernmost part of Angola , in the Cabinda exclave . An occasionally postulated occurrence as far as southwestern Angola around the level of Moçâmedes is unlikely. The habitat of the long-tailed pangolin consists mainly of tropical rainforests , but it also inhabits secondary forests . The pangolin is mainly found on the banks of the river or in marshland and floodplains, where the highest population density is assumed. The landscapes are characterized by palm trees , including rattan palms , and various marsh plants such as Uapaca , Pseudospondias and Mitragyna . Only rarely have individuals been observed in agricultural areas. In most of the distribution area the long-tailed pangolin lives sympatric with the white-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ). Studies in Nigeria have shown that the former is much rarer than the latter. If both appear together in one habitat , the long-tailed pangolin uses the aquatic areas even more.
Way of life
Territorial behavior
In general, the long-tailed pangolin lives extremely hidden, the color of the scales serves as camouflage and imitates the sunlight reflected from the leaves. As a result, its activities have not been adequately researched in detail. It is solitary and largely arboricolous , just like its relative, the white-bellied pangolin. But it is more diurnal than this. Among the pangolins, the species is one of the most pronounced tree-dwellers, especially dams with young almost never leave trees. The extraordinarily long tail is an extreme adaptation to this way of life. It serves as the "fifth limb" and is usually wrapped around the trunk or branch. The long-tailed pangolin is able to keep its entire body weight hanging on its tail for a long time. It climbs vertical trunks and thick branches with a caterpillar-like locomotion with the front legs moving forward and the hind legs following, with the back constantly flexing and stretching. It climbs horizontal and mostly thinner branches in a normal four-footed gait, the middle fingers can be spread and can pinch smaller branches. Sometimes an animal hangs upside down and then clings to the claws of the front feet, which is reminiscent of the typical posture of the tree-living sloth . On the ground, the pangolin moves slowly forwards, when running faster, for example when an animal is chasing other species, it also changes into a caterpillar-like movement, which can end in a series of jumps when attacked. In addition, the long-tailed pangolin is considered to be well adapted to a semi-aquatic life and is therefore an excellent swimmer. In the water it snakes undulating, comparable to snakes , forward, with the tail usually providing the propulsion. The animal holds its head above or below the water. Before swimming, it absorbs extra air, so that the body diameter can increase by up to 10 cm. Back on land, it releases the extra air with a trumpet-like sound.
It is very likely that the long-tailed pangolin uses designated action rooms with several accommodations in the form of tree hollows that are visited alternately. An animal can crawl through a loophole that is only 5 cm wide and then expands this with the help of the scales on its body. Within its area of action, it uses fixed paths that are marked with urine or secretions from scent glands located on the buttocks. Orientation takes place mainly through the extremely well-developed sense of smell . The intra-species contact during the choice of a partner between aggressive males, but also over long distances, takes place via excretions from glands near the anus . Young, adult individuals who have just left their mother usually have no fixed territory and roam freely for four to five months. They spend the night curled up on a branch outdoors. If there is no tree available for sleeping, they dig a simple hole in the ground.
nutrition
The long-tailed pangolin feeds exclusively on insects that form colonies, mainly ants , whereas it only eats termites very rarely. As a result, the long-tailed pangolin is strictly myrmecophagous , even stronger than most of the other representatives. The diet consists mainly of tree-dwelling ant species, including the genera Crematogaster and Cataulacus . The sense of smell is primarily used to find the prey. It ingests the food with the long, sticky tongue, which can be stuck out of the mouth 16 to 18 cm long. The nests or tree hollows in which the ants live are opened by the long-tailed pangolin with the claws of the front feet. Usually this only happens when the ants running around the surface have been eaten. As a rule, an animal does not completely destroy the ant burrow, but returns to it several times in a row.
Reproduction
The reproduction of the long-tailed pangolin has been little researched, but it is known that it occurs regardless of the season. In principle, the female is ready to receive again 9 to 16 days after the last birth. The foreplay between male and female is ritualized with breast thrusts until the female clings to the male's tail. Both climb a tree where the sexual act takes place. The tails of the animals are intertwined. The gestation period is estimated to last 140 days, after which a young 30 to 35 cm in total length and 100 to 150 g in weight is born. The birth takes place in a tree hollow, where the newborn stays and is breastfed for the first few weeks. Mother and young are initially close together. Later, the youngster leaves the tree cave with her, riding on the mother's tail. The young eats their first solid insect food at two weeks of age. It leaves the mother with the birth of the next young animal. It is fully grown at 15 months.
Predators and enemy behavior
The leopard is one of the most important predators . Investigations of the feces of the big cat in the Lopé and Ivindo National Park in Gabon revealed the remains of the long-tailed pangolin, but their share in the total prey that was killed is rather small. Sometimes chimpanzees also kill an animal. As a rule, the long-tailed pangolin flees on tall trees in areas that are inaccessible to the predator. As a result, individual animals can also become victims of attacks by eagles or giant snakes . When threatened, the long-tailed pangolin curls up into a ball and covers the unscaled body parts with its tail. Secretions from the anal glands are also used to ward off enemies. Some birds such as the honey indicator drive away the long-tailed armadillo ( hating ) in groups , which is probably due to competition for habitable tree hollows.
Parasites
The tick genus Amblyomma has been identified as an external parasite , which usually nests at the base of the scales on the neck and back.
Systematics
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Internal systematics of the Manidae according to Gaubert et al. 2018
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The long-tailed pangolin is a species from the genus Phataginus , which also includes the white-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ). According to molecular genetic analyzes, the two species separated from one another in the Middle Miocene 13.3 million years ago. Phataginus represents the tree-dwelling pangolins of Africa, to which the ground-dwelling of the genus Smutsia are placed alongside. The Phataginus species belong to the subfamily of the Phatagininae , the representatives of Smutsia to the subfamily of the Smutsiinae . The African pangolins, in turn, are compared to the Asian pangolins from the genus Manis and the subfamily of the Maninae as a sister group , together they form the family of the pangolin (Manidae). The pangolins comprise the currently only member of the order of the Pholidota, so they are monotypical . The group is largely related to the predators (Carnivora), whereby the relationship to each other was only determined and secured through genetic studies. In some systematics , Manis , the actual representative of the Asian pangolins, is the only recognized genus of pangolins ; according to this view , all other genera including Phataginus should only be regarded as sub-genera. On the other hand, there is also the view that the pangolins are much more fragmented, according to which the long-tailed pangolin is to be understood as a representative of the genus Uromanis , while its closest relative, the white-bellied pangolin, is classified solely in Phataginus . The division of the pangolin family into the three genera Manis , Phataginus and Smutsia was first proposed in the late 1990s. Subsequent anatomical and phylogenetic studies were able to support this view.
The long-tailed pangolin is a monotypic species, no subspecies are known. There is also no fossil record so far. The species was first named by Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his work Systema Naturae , but as Manis tetradactyla . Here he put them to the side of the Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ) that he had introduced eight years earlier. Linnaeus America stated Australis as the type region, but by which he meant West Africa. In the past, the long-tailed pangolin was also led under the species name longicaudata , from which the common name is partly derived. The species name comes from Mathurin-Jacques Brisson from 1756 (Brisson's full name for the long-tailed pangolin was Pholidotus longicaudatus or Pholidote a Longue Queue ), but it is not valid under the rules of the ICZN .
Threat and protection
Like all pangolins, the long-tailed pangolin is also subject to more intense hunting. This takes place because of the meat, which mostly ends up in local markets as exotic bushmeat , and the scales, which are said to have healing powers. They also find their way into traditional African customs such as juju . The species is rarely found, but is still partially present on the global market, for example in Paris , where five animals were seized in June 2008. A large part of the internationally traded animals is exported to East Asia , where they are used in traditional Chinese medicine . Since 2000, the trade in long-tailed pangolin or parts of its body has been banned under the Washington Convention on Endangered Species (CITES), whereby the CITES zero annual export quota applies. Further potential threats to the stocks can be found in the destruction of the habitat through deforestation as a result of the expansion of human settlements or the development of landscapes for raw material extraction. The IUCN lists the type and due to the rarity of diminishing population trends assumed to be "at risk" ( vulnerable ). The long-tailed pangolin is represented in several protected areas, including in the Dzanga Sangha sanctuary in the Central African Republic . The development of national protection standards is necessary for the preservation of the population, as well as further research into the way of life of the pangolin species and the ways in international trade.
literature
- Phillipe Gaubert: Order Pholidota. In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 82-103 (pp. 101-102)
- Jonathan Kingdon and Michael Hoffmann: Phatginus tetradactyla Long-tailed Pangolin. In: Jonathan Kingdom, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume V. Carnivores pangolins, equids and rhinoceroses. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 389-391
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Phillipe Gaubert: Order Pholidota. In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 82-103 (pp. 101-102)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Jonathan Kingdon and Michael Hoffmann: Phatginus tetradactyla Long-tailed Pangolin. In: Jonathan Kingdom, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume V. Carnivores pangolins, equids and rhinoceroses. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 389-391
- ^ FA Jentink: Revision of the Manidae in the Leyden Museum. Notes from the Leyden Museum 4, 1882, pp. 193-209
- ↑ a b Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 ( [1] )
- ↑ Olufemi A. Sodeinde and Segun R. Adedipe: pangolins in south-west Nigeria - current status and prognosis. Oryx, 28 (1), 1994, pp. 43-50
- ↑ a b c U. Rahm: Observations on the pangolins Manis tricuspis and Manis longicaudata from the Ivory Coast. Revue Suisse De Zoologie 62, 1955, pp. 361–367
- ↑ P. Henschel, KA Abernethy and LJT White: Leopard food habits in the Lopé national park, Gabon, Central Africa. African Journal of Ecology 43, 2005, pp. 21-28
- ↑ P. Henschel, LTB Hunter, L. Coad, KA Abernethy and M. Mühlenberg: Leopard prey choice in the Congo Basin rainforest suggests exploitative competition with human bushmeat hunters. Journal of Zoology 285 (1), 2011, pp. 11-20
- ^ André Aeschlimann: Observations sur la morphologie, la biologie et le développment d'Amblyomma compressum (Macalister, 1872) la tique des pangolins d'Afrique occidentale. Acta Tropica 20, 1963, pp. 154-177
- ↑ a b c Philippe Gaubert, Agostinho Antunes, Hao Meng, Lin Miao, Stéphane Peigné, Fabienne Justy, Flobert Njiokou, Sylvain Dufour, Emmanuel Danquah, Jayanthi Alahakoon, Erik Verheyen, William T. Stanley, Stephen J. O'Brien, Warren E. Johnson and Shu-Jin Luo: The Complete Phylogeny of Pangolins: Scaling Up Resources for the Molecular Tracing of the Most Trafficked Mammals on Earth. Journal of Heredity 109, 2018, pp. 347-359, doi: 10.1093 / jhered / esx097
- ↑ William J. Murphy, Eduardo Eizirik, Stephen J. O'Brien, Ole Madsen, Mark Scally, Christophe J. Douady, Emma Teeling, Oliver A. Ryder, Michael J. Stanhope, Wilfried W. de Jong and Mark S. Springer : Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics. Science 294, 2001, pp. 2348-2351
- ^ A b Timothy J. Gaudin, Robert J. Emry, and John R. Wible: The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 16, 2009, pp. 235-305
- ↑ Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell: Classification of mammals above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York, 1997, pp. 1-631 (pp. 221-222)
- ↑ Timothy J. Gaudin and John R. Wible: The entotympanic of pangolins and the phylogeny of the Pholidota. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 6 (1), 1999, pp. 39-65
- ^ Wighart von Koenigswald: Order Pholidota. In: Gertrud E. Rössner and Kurt Heissig: The Miocene land mammals of Europe. Munich, 1999, pp. 75-79
- ^ Mathurin-Jacques Brisson: Regnum animale in classes IX distributum sive Synopsis methodica. Haak, Paris, Leiden 1756–1762, pp. 1–296 (pp. 31–32)
- ^ Amie Bräutigam, John Howes, Tamsien Humphreys and Jonathan Hutton: Recent information on the status and utilization of African pangolins. TRAFFIC Bulletin 15, 1994, pp. 15-22
- ↑ Anne-Lise Chaber, Sophie Allebone-Webb, Yves Lignereux, Andrew A. Cunningham and J. Marcus Rowcliffe: The scale of illegal meat importation from Africa to Europe via Paris. Conservation Letters 3, 2010, pp. 317-323
- ↑ Daniel WS Challender and Lisa Hywood: African pangolins under Increased pressure from poaching and intercontinental trade. TRAFFIC Bulletin 24 (2), 2012, pp. 53-55
- ↑ C. Waterman, D. Pietersen, D. Soewu, L. Hywood and P. Rankin: Phataginus tetradactyla. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. ( [2] ); last accessed on December 8, 2014
Web links
- Phataginus tetradactyla in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Pangolin Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on December 8, 2014.
- CITES: Appendices I, II and III, valid from 12 June 2013 (Pangolins (Pholidota) at CITES)
- Information on the Animal Diversity Web