Front Indian pangolin

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Front Indian pangolin
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

Indian pangolin ( Manis crassicaudata )

Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Pholidota
Family : Pangolins (Manidae)
Subfamily : Maninae
Genre : Manis
Type : Front Indian pangolin
Scientific name
Manis crassicaudata
Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire , 1803

The Indian pangolin or Indian pangolin ( Manis crassicaudata ) is a species of mammal from the family of pangolins (Manidae). It represents a large representative of the pangolins, the area of ​​distribution of which includes South Asia ("Front India"). There, the pangolin lives in dense forests, open landscapes and sometimes desert-like areas. It is nocturnal, solitary and living on the ground, but can also climb trees well. The main food is ants and termites , but there is little information about their exact way of life. In general, the Indian pangolin is rare and its population is threatened by increasing hunting. Mainly the dandruff, but also other parts of the body, are used as remedies in local medical practices, and they are also more frequently on the international black market. Another risk factor is the high human population density in the distribution area. This pangolin was first mentioned in 1803.

features

Habitus

The Indian pangolin is a large representative of the pangolins . It reaches a head-trunk length of 51 to 75 cm and a tail length of 33 to 47 cm. The tail is thus significantly shorter than the rest of the body. The weight varies between 10 and 16 kg. Males are usually larger than females, a particularly large specimen from Rajasthan measured a total of 170 cm in total length and weighed over 32 kg. An examination of 10 individuals from the Pothohar Plateau in Pakistan showed on average slightly larger body sizes. The body lengths of adult animals varied between 76.2 and 84.3 cm, the tail lengths between 53 and 71 cm and the body weight from 11 to 20 kg. Characteristic is the scale armor formed in all pangolins, which covers the top of the head, the back and the flanks, the outside of the limbs and the tail. It consists of up to 294 individual scales, which are uniformly yellow-brown in color and extremely solid. Their size varies depending on the position of the body. The smallest scales are on the head and are only 2 cm long. They are largest on the trunk, where they are 6.5 to 7.0 cm long and 8 cm wide, and weigh between 7 and 10 g. The scales are arranged in 13 to 15 rows on the trunk. The size of the scales increases towards the back. A single row of scales runs along the back of the body from the head to the tip of the tail, the total number is 46, of which 14 to 16 are on the tail. The tail is extremely massive, at the root it can have a circumference of 30 cm. The end of the tail is completely covered with scales and does not show any exposed skin. Long, thin hairs of light color sprout between the individual scales, which are only sparsely present on the unscaled parts of the body. The skin is brown in color, only on the nose it appears darker. The small eyes have a dark iris , the ears are indicated by a thickened cartilage ridge with a maximum length of 2 cm. The tongue measures up to 42.5 cm and thus reaches more than a third of the total length of the animals. The front legs are slightly longer than the rear legs. The limbs end both in front and behind in five rays each with curved claws. The rear claws are shorter than the front. At the forefoot, the middle one is also extended and designed as a grave claw.

Skull and skeletal features

The skull has a length of 9 to 16 cm and is conical in shape with a relatively long and strong rostrum . The zygomatic arch is typically not closed. The spine comprises 7 cervical, 15 thoracic, 6 lumbar, 3 sacrum and 26 to 30 tail vertebrae. The anterior lumbar vertebrae have extremely well-developed vertebral arches .

distribution and habitat

Distribution area (blue) of the front Indian pangolin

The distribution area of ​​the front Indian pangolin includes north and south-east Pakistan , most of India , southern Nepal and the island of Sri Lanka . Originally it also occurred in Bangladesh (with the exception of the coastal region), where it has most likely disappeared. There are also dubious reports from Myanmar and China . The pangolin species inhabit a number of habitats such as tropical rainforests , secondary forests, and grasslands. In Pakistan it has also been found in thorn bush savannahs, so that it also shows a certain tolerance for arid areas. If there is sufficient food available, the animals can also be found in the vicinity of human settlements. As a rule, the Indian pangolin lives in flat and hilly regions. In Sri Lanka it was observed up to heights of 1100 m, in the Nilgiri Mountains in southern India up to heights of 2300 m. In general, the pangolin species is considered rare, the lowest population density is assumed for the refuges in the western and eastern peripheral areas of the distribution area. Investigations from the Pakistani Pothohar Plateau showed only 0.005 to 0.015 individuals per hectare . According to studies, the ratio of males to females is 1.6: 1.

Way of life

Territorial behavior

Front Indian pangolin rolled into a ball to protect against lions

The Indian pangolin is solitary and mostly lives on the ground, but animals in the rainforests of Sri Lanka also occasionally climb trees. The way of life is largely unexplored due to rare sightings. The main activity takes place at dusk and at night between 5:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Increased activity was found in examinations of animals in captivity between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and between 11 p.m. and midnight, the longest phase lasting around two hours. The pangolin digs its own burrows, often under large rocks. An animal loosens the soil with its front feet and pushes it away with its back feet. In deeper burrows, it pushes the earth out with its front feet, crawling backwards. Depending on the nature of the soil, a single structure is between 1.5 m in length in areas with more solid and 6 m in areas with loose soils. The entrances are between 23 and 30 cm in size and are usually covered with mud. In addition to the sleeping burrows, which are visited more regularly, feeding burrows dug at short notice can be distinguished. These are much more common, with a length of 20 to 35 cm, significantly shorter and are characterized by an accumulation of remains of insects. Investigations in Pakistan have shown that the Indian pangolin likes to build its burrows near Ziziphus or Acacia bushes. On the ground, the pangolin moves on four feet with its weight on the outer edge of the claws of the forefoot, which are also folded down and point backwards. Furthermore, the back is arched and the tail is kept parallel to the ground. Occasionally she stands up on her hind legs to explore the area. She is also a good tree climber and uses her tail to secure herself around the trunk or branch. In the event of danger, the Indian pangolin makes a sibilant sound and usually curls up into a ball, with its tail above its head, so that the sharp scales protect the dandruff-free parts of the body. But it can also strike with its tail. There are scent glands on the buttocks , which spray a yellowish secretion with a musky odor, which may be used for marking.

nutrition

Front Indian pangolin

The diet consists mainly of ants and termites , but the Indian pangolin is less strictly myrmecophagous than the other Asian pangolins. In addition to the adult insects, it also consumes their larvae and eggs, the latter being mostly preferred. The animals look for food mainly on the ground and rummage for it there with their excellent sense of smell , where they constantly sniff and orientate themselves. There are reports from Sri Lanka that the pangolin also eats tree ants, which it prey on climbing. The ant and termite burrows are broken open with the claws of the forefeet; when eating, the long, sticky tongue shoots out of the mouth at short intervals and then carries the prey in. Individuals of the front Indian pangolin proceed very selectively in the choice of prey and only eat certain forms of ants and termites, but the exact species are in many cases unknown. Analyzes of stomach contents from the Pothohar Plateau in Pakistan revealed, among other things, ants of the genus Camponotus and termites of the genus Odontotermis . Investigations in the Yagirala forest reserve in southwestern Sri Lanka showed similar results, with the representatives of ants Oecophylla , Anoplolepis and Monomorium being added. In both regions, a large proportion of soil substrates was found in the stomach contents, which can sometimes make up more than half of the volume. In addition to colonizing insects , remains of beetles and cockroaches as well as the skins of worms were found in the individual stomach contents examined . The consumption of soft-shelled land snails was observed in animals in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The Indian pangolin drinks water and also uses its tongue. Animals in desert-like dry regions can do without water for a long time.

Reproduction

Little is known about reproduction. It is very likely that the Indian pangolin reproduces throughout the year, births were recorded from January to August and from November to December. On the Pothohar plateau in the western area of ​​distribution, sightings of young animals increasingly took place from December to April. During the mating season , males and females may share a burrow and are sometimes diurnal. The gestation period is assumed to be 65 to 80 days. Usually one young is born, rarely two. This is around 30 cm long, including a 12 to 13 cm long tail, and weighs 235 to 400 g. Newborns have open eyes and soft scales with individual hairs sprouting between them. You can crawl from birth. The mother usually carries the young animal on the base of its tail, in case of danger it rolls up with it to protect it. Nothing is known about the life expectancy of the species in the wild. One animal spent over 19 years at the Oklahoma City Zoo .

Parasites

Ticks are mainly known as external parasites . Furthermore, the Indian pangolin was identified as a carrier of the protozoon Toxoplasma and the intestinal leech Echinostoma .

Systematics

Internal systematics of the Manidae according to Gaubert et al. 2018
  Manidae  
  Manis  


 Manis crassicaudata


   

 Manis culionensis


   

 Manis javanica




   

 Manis pentadactyla



   
  Smutsia  

 Smutsia gigantea


   

 Smutsia temminckii



  Phataginus  

 Phataginus tetradactyla


   

 Phataginus tricuspis





Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The Indian pangolin is incorporated as an independent species in the genus Manis , which in turn includes three other species that still exist today. This genus represents the Asian representative of the family of pangolins (Manidae). The genus Manis in turn is placed in the subfamily Maninae . This contrasts with the African pangolins, which are distributed among the subfamilies of the Smutsiinae and the Phatagininae . The pangolins in turn are currently considered the only member of the order of the Pholidota, which are thus monotypical . The predatory animals (Carnivora) belong to the more extensive relationship of the pangolins, but this was only determined and confirmed by molecular genetic studies.

The genus Manis is often divided into the subgenus Manis and Paramanis . In this subdivision, the Indian pangolin belongs to the former. Its closest relative is the Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ), the only other member of the subgenus Manis . The close relationship with the Chinese pangolin cannot be proven genetically. According to studies from 2017, the Indian pangolin is the sister group of a clade , consisting of the Malay pangolin ( Manis javanica ) and the Palawan pangolin ( Manis culionensis ). The two lines separated in the Upper Miocene 9.1 million years ago.

Fossil finds of the front Indian pangolin are not known. However, the extinct species Manis lydekkeri , which was discovered in the Carnul caves near Madras , is documented from today's distribution area . But it can only be assigned an isolated last link of the middle finger with the typical notch for the claw, which differs little from today's representatives. With a length of 5.7 cm, the find is slightly larger than comparable finger joints of the African giant pangolin ( Smutsia gigantea ). The relationship between the extinct Manis species and today's representatives is unclear. There are no known subspecies of the Indian pangolin. The first scientific description of the species was made in 1803 by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire . For a while, John Edward Gray was also the first author to mention the art in 1827.

threat

The North Indian pangolin is heavily hunted, in part because of the meat that is locally used as food. The scales and other parts of the body, such as the brain or body fat, from which oils are extracted, for example, are considered a remedy or aphrodisiac in local traditions, and the skin is used to make leather. The Indian pangolin is also increasingly involved in international trade, which mainly affects the scales that are used in East Asia for traditional Chinese medicine . For example, 118 animals killed or captured were seized by the authorities on the Pothohar Plateau in Pakistan between January 2011 and April 2012 alone. Like the other species of pangolins, the Indian pangolin has been protected by the Washington Convention on Endangered Species (CITES) since 2000 . Therefore, any trade in the animals or their body parts is prohibited ( CITES zero annual export quota ). A large part of the distribution area of ​​the pangolin is also one of the most densely populated areas of all. Although the Indian pangolin can adapt to areas influenced by humans, the ongoing destruction of habitats represents a further major threat to its population. Individual animals are also subordinate to the victims of traffic accidents. The IUCN therefore lists the species as "critically endangered" ( endangered ) and goes from a plummeting population size from. The Indian pangolin is present in several nature reserves, for example in the Chitwan National Park in Nepal and in the Gir National Park in India.

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 (p. 97)
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899
  • Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Nausheen Irshad, Tariq Mahmood and Muhammad Sajid Nadeem: Morpho-anatomical characteristics of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) from Potohar Plateau, Pakistan. Mammalia 80 (1), 2016, pp. 103–110 ( [1] )
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h 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 (p. 97)
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Martha E. Heath: Manis crassicaudata. Mammalian Species 513, 1995, pp. 1-4
  4. ↑ a b J. Baillie, D. Challender, P. Kaspal, A. Khatiwada, R. Mohapatra and H. Nash: Manis crassicaudata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. ( [2] ); last accessed on November 17, 2014
  5. ↑ a b Tariq Mahmood, Nausheen Irshad and Riaz Hussain: Habitat Preference and Population Estimates of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in District Chakwal of Potohar Plateau, Pakistan. Russian Journal of Ecology 45 (1), 2014, pp. 70-75
  6. ↑ a b Tariq Mahmood, Nausheen Irshad, Riaz Hussain, Faraz Akrim, Iftikhar Hussain, Maqsood Anwar, Muhammad Rais and Muhammad Sajid Nadeem: Breeding habits of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Potohar Plateau, Pakistan. Mammalia 80 (2), 2016, pp. 231–234 ( [3] )
  7. ↑ K. Krishna Prasad and C. Srinivasulu: Additional site records of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata Gray 1827) (Pholidota; Manidae) in Guntur, Mahabubnagar and Medak districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Small Mammal Mail 4 (2), 2012, p. 8
  8. Jump up ↑ Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra and Sudarsan Panda: Behavioral sampling techniques and activity pattern of Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata (Mammalia: Manidae) in captivity. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5 (17), 2013, pp. 5247-5255
  9. ^ Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra and Sudarsan Panda: Behavioral Descriptions of Indian Pangolins (Manis crassicaudata) in Captivity. International Journal of Zoology 2014, p. 795062, doi: 10.1155 / 2014/795062
  10. ↑ Nausheen Irshad, Tariq Mahmood, Riaz Hussain and Muhammad Sajid Nadeem: distribution, abundance and diet of the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata). Animal Biology 65, 2015, pp. 57-71
  11. ↑ Hasitha Karawita, Priyan Perera, Nihal Dayawansa and Sriyani Dias: Dietary composition and foraging habitats of the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in a tropical lowland forest-associated landscape in southwest Sri Lanka. Global Ecology and Conservation 21, 2020, p. E00880, doi: 10.1016 / j.gecco.2019.e00880
  12. ^ A b Manoj Misra and Fahmeeda Hanfee: Pangolin distribution and trade in East and Northeast India. TRAFFIC 14, 2000, pp. 4-5
  13. ↑ Ishwar Prakash: Breeding of Mammals in Rajasthan Desert, India. Journal of Mammalogy 41 (3), 1960, pp. 386-389
  14. ↑ Norman TL Lim and Peter KL Ng: Home range, activity cycle and natal den usage of a female Sunda pangolin Manis javanica (Mammalia: Pholidota) in Singapore. Endangered Species Research 3, 2007, pp. 1-8
  15. ↑ Martha E. Heath: Biology, Husbandry, and Veterinary Care of Captive Chinese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla). Zoo Biology 7, 1988, pp. 293-312
  16. ↑ 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
  17. ^ 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
  18. ↑ 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
  19. ↑ Th. Kormos: Manis hungarica n. Sp., The first pangolin from the European Upper Pliocene. Folia Toologica et Hydrobiologica 6, 1934, pp. 87-94
  20. ^ Robert J. Emry: A North American Oligocene pangolin and other additions to the Pholidota. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 142, 1970, pp. 455-510
  21. ↑ 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 ( [4] )
  22. ^ Tariq Mahmood, Riaz Hussain, Nausheen Irshad, Faraz Akrim and Muhammad Sajid Nadeem: Illegal Mass Killing of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Potohar Region, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 44 (5), 2012, pp. 1457-1461
  23. ↑ KLN Murthy and Satyanarayan Mishra: A note on road killings of Indian pangolin Manis crassicaudata Gray at Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary of Eastern Ghat ranges. Small Mammal Mail 2 (2), 2012, pp. 8-10

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