Phataginus
| Phataginus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ), San Diego Zoo |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the subfamily | ||||||||||||
| Phatagininae | ||||||||||||
| Gaubert , 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Phataginus | ||||||||||||
| Rafinesque , 1821 |
Phataginus is a genus from the family of dandruff animals (Manidae). It includes the tree-living representatives of Africa, which are mainly found in West and Central Africa. Altogethertwo types can be distinguishedwith the long-tailed pangolin and the white-bellied pangolin . Both predominantly inhabit forest landscapes and feed on termites and insects . In addition to the externally striking scale armor, the exceptionally long tail, which functions as a prehensile tail and is an adaptation to life in the trees, is particularly striking. Intensive hunting, partly for food supply, but partly also for use in local medical practices, lead to a decline in individual stocks. Its use in traditional Chinese medicine is also increasingly havinga negative impact on the populations of the tree-dwelling African pangolins. Both species are considered to be endangered.
features
The genus Phataginus includes the white-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ) and the long-tailed pangolin ( Phataginus tetradactyla ), the smallest representatives of the pangolins. These reach a head-to-trunk length of 30 to 43 cm, a tail length of 34 to 70 cm and a weight of 1.6 to 3.5 kg. The extremely long tail, which is one and a half to twice as long as the rest of the body, is particularly outstanding. The bony substructure of the tail is composed of 41 to 50 vertebrae, which is the highest number among today's mammals . Overall, the tree-climbing, African pangolins appear to be much more graceful and lighter than the ground-dwelling ones and have a much longer tail than these. As with all pangolins, scale armor is formed that covers the head, back and sides of the trunk, the tail and the outside of the limbs. Unlike the other pangolins, however, Phataginus lacks armor on the lower front legs, which are instead covered by long hair. Analogous to the other African pangolins and unlike the Asian pangolins, no hair grows between the scales. The scales have three points pointing backwards and are very thin and light in Phataginus . They are arranged in individual rows that run across the body. A single row of scales stretches across the center line of the back, but unlike the Asian pangolins, it does not reach the tip of the tail. Rather, it breaks off beforehand and is replaced by a shorter double row of scales. The lower tip of the tail is free of scales and has a tactile pad there. The head is conical in shape and is characterized by small eyes. The bulges in the ears, which stand out clearly in the Asian Manis species, appear conspicuously reduced in Phataginus as in its African relatives. The limbs are generally strong and terminate in five rays in front and behind. These each have claws, whereby in Phataginus they are almost the same length on the front and rear feet. Only the middle of the forefoot is transformed into a grave claw and is almost twice as long as the others.
distribution and habitat
The representatives of the genus Phataginus are common in West and Central Africa. They occur from Sierra Leone in the west to the countries of the Congo Basin in the east. Their main habitat is dominated by tropical rainforests , and some can also be found in secondary forests or on poorly managed plantations. Compared to the white-bellied pangolin, the long-tailed pangolin is much rarer and mostly inhabits swampy landscapes.
Way of life
Territorial behavior
The two Phataginus species are solitary and tree-dwelling, but also occur on the ground. There they move forward with their front feet flat on the ground, which differs from the pangolins of Africa, which live purely on the ground. In the trees they climb in a manner of locomotion reminiscent of caterpillars , whereby the front limbs are set first and the hind limbs are then pulled along. The long tail is a clear adaptation to tree life and partly also serves as a “fifth limb”, which is able to hold the weight of an animal for a while. In addition, the representatives of Phataginus are quite good swimmers. While the long-tailed pangolin is more active during the day, the main activity of the white-bellied pangolin begins at dusk. Both types use action spaces in which several tree hollows can be found distributed as shelter. The areas are marked with secretions , which also serve for intra-species communication.
nutrition
In principle, both representatives of the genus Phataginus are highly specialized in their diet. They prefer colonizing insects like ants and termites . This makes them strictly myrmecophagous . However, differences can be seen in detail. The main diet of the long-tailed pangolin tends to include ants, that of the white-bellied pangolin rather termites. The prey is tracked down with the excellently trained sense of smell . The pangolins usually open the nests with the extended central claw of the front feet and pick up the prey with the long, sticky tongue, which can be stuck out very far from the mouth. An animal does not completely destroy a nest, but returns to it several times in a row.
Reproduction
The reproduction takes place all year round. The gestation period lasts between 130 and 150 days, usually only one young is born, the embryo develops in one of the two horns of the uterus . The newborn has open eyes and soft scales and is therefore already well developed. It spends the beginning in a tree hollow. After a few weeks, the young leaves them riding on the tail root of the mother animal. The young animal is weaned after around four months. It leaves the mother with the birth of the next boy. Initially it does not have a fixed space for action and wanders around for several months. After around 15 months the animal is fully grown, then it also establishes its own space for action. Life expectancy in the wild is unknown.
Systematics
|
Internal systematics of the Manidae according to Gaubert et al. 2018
|
Phataginus is a genus from the family of the shed animals (Manidae). It includes the tree-climbing pangolins of Africa and forms the only member in the subfamily of the Phatagininae. The subfamily is supported by the Smutsiinae , which include the genus Smutsia with the ground-dwelling pangolins of Africa. According to molecular analyzes, the two lines of African pangolins separated in the transition from the Oligocene to the Miocene around 22.9 million years ago. The Asiatic pangolins, which are grouped together in the genus Manis and the subfamily of the Maninae , are somewhat more distantly related; they split off from their common ancestors as early as the Eocene period between 46.9 and 37.9 million years ago. The pangolins themselves represent the currently only member of the order of the Pholidota. They are extensively related to the predators (Carnivora). However, this was only recognized through genetic tests.
However, there are also other suggestions for structuring pangolins. So the African representatives were partly led within the genus Manis , with Phataginus and Smutsia then having the status of subgenus in this case. However, based on the results of anatomical and phylogenetic studies, a stronger differentiation of the pangolin family is more likely. The Asian pangolins form a monophyletic , i.e. self-contained group, the African, on the other hand, appear more heterogeneous. This advocates a separation of the African from the Asian species. The division of the African pangolins is in turn supported by morphological and anatomical differences.
The subfamily of the Phatagininae and the genus Phataginus are led today with two species:
- Subfamily Phatagininae Gaubert , 2017
-
- Phataginus Rafinesque , 1821
- Long-tailed pangolin or black-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tetradactyla ( Linnaeus , 1766)); West and Central Africa
- White-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ( Rafinesque , 1821)); West and Central Africa
According to genetic data, the white-bellied pangolin could be composed of several species, which is also supported by skull morphological analyzes. Occasionally the genus Uromanis is separated from Phataginus . Both genera are then monotypical, the former includes the white-bellied pangolin, the latter the long-tailed pangolin. However, according to the anatomical and phylogenetic analyzes already mentioned, the two arboreal pangolins of Africa form a closed group, which does not justify a division into two genera. Phataginus fossils are not known.
The first scientific description of Phataginus comes from the year 1821 and was carried out by Constantine S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz on the basis of an individual from Guinea who had been brought to the American Museum of Natural History in New York . He saw Phataginus as a subgenus of Manis . It differed in the construction of the foot and the length of the tail compared to the rest of the body from what he believed to be the second subgenus Pangolinus , which contained the then known Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ) and was established by him in the same script. His first brief description of Phataginus was:
Pieds of 4 doigts; 5 ongles inégaux, 4 très longs et 1 intérieur très court, n'appartenant à aucun doigt visible; queue plus longue que le corps
“4-toed foot; 5 curved claws, 4 very long and one very short or barely visible inner toe; Tail longer than body "
Rafinesque noted, however, that the four toes assumed by Linnaeus in his long-tailed pangolin described in 1766 were flawed, since the species actually has five, one of which, as his description stated, is extremely short.
The genus was partly led together with Smutsia within the subfamily of the Smutsiinae. Genetic studies from 2017 came to a further genetic separation of the two pangolin lines. Because of this and also because of numerous deviating morphological characteristics, Philippe Gaubert introduced the new subfamily of the Phatagininae in the same year.
Threat and protection
Like all other pangolins, the two Phataginus species are heavily hunted by humans and mostly traded locally on markets. On the one hand, their meat is considered a delicacy and is sold as bushmeat , on the other hand, the scales and other parts of the body are said to have healing powers. As a result, they are part of the local medical traditions and are used in the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. In the case of the Yoruba in Nigeria alone , the use of arboreal pangolins has been documented for over 40 diseases and ailments, and individual body parts are also used as good luck charms. The different frequency of the two representatives of Phataginus is also reflected in the markets. In 2004, long-tailed pangolins with a total weight of 335 kg were sold in five markets in Gabon, while the amount of white-bellied pangolin reached over 2 t. In addition to this, mostly local sale, the tree-climbing, African pangolins are increasingly part of international trade. The target region here is East and Southeast Asia , where pangolins are used in traditional Chinese medicine . Part of this trade takes place via European airports. For example, five long-tailed pangolins were seized in Paris in June 2008 , and in 2011 authorities in Belgium found 100 hides with scales of the white-bellied pangolin. As a result of this, sometimes heavy hunt, the populations of the two tree-climbing pangolin species in Africa have declined sharply, and in some places have already disappeared. Since 2000 they have been subject to the Washington Convention on the Protection of Species (CITES), which prohibits trade in animals or their body parts ( CITES zero annual export quota ). In addition to the intensive hunting by humans, the increasing destruction of the landscape, along with the expansion of human settlements and usable areas, has an impact on the individual populations. Both representatives of Phataginus are from the IUCN as "endangered" ( vulnerable ) classified.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g 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
- ↑ Martha E. Heath: Family Manidae. Pangolins. 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, p. 387
- ↑ Martha E. Heath and Jonathan Kingdon: Genus Phatginus Tree Pangolins. 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, p. 388
- ↑ a b c d Jonathan Kingdon and Michael Hoffmann: Phatginus tricuspis Tree Pangolin (African White-bellied 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. 391-395
- ↑ a b c d e 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
- ↑ a b c d e f 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
- ^ Zelda Du Toit, J. Paul Grobler, Antoinette Kotzé, Raymond Jansen, Helene Brettschneider, and Desiré L. Dalton: The complete mitochondrial genome of Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii; Smuts, 1832) and phylogenetic position of the Pholidota (Weber, 1904 ). Gene 551, 2014, pp. 49-54
- ↑ 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. In: Science 294, 2001, pp. 2348-2351
- ↑ a b c d 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
- ^ George Gaylord Simpson: The Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 85, 1945, pp. 1–350 (pp. 75 and 194–195)
- ↑ Philippe Gaubert, Flobert Njiokou, Gabriel Ngua, Komlan Afiademanyo, Sylvain Dufour, Jean Malekani, Sery Gonedelé Bi, Christelle Tougard, Ayodeji Olayemi, Emmanuel Damquah, Chabi AMS Djagoun, Prince Kaleme, Casimir Jin Luigi Mololo, William Stanley, Shu-Jin Luigi and Agostinho Antunes: Phylogeography of the heavily poached African common pangolin (Pholidota, Manis tricuspis) reveals six cryptic lineages as traceable signatures of Pleistocene diversification. Molecular Ecology 25, 2016, pp. 5975-5993
- ^ Sérgio Ferreira-Cardoso, Guillaume Billet, Philippe Gaubert, Frédéric Delsuc and Lionel Hautier: Skull shape variation in extant pangolins (Pholidota: Manidae): allometric patterns and systematic, implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2019, doi: 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlz096
- ↑ 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)
- ^ Constantine S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz: Sur le genre Manis et description d'une nouvelle espèce: Manis Ceonyx. Annales Generales des Sciences Physiques 7, 1820 (1821), pp. 214-215
- ↑ Olufemi A. Sodeinde and Segun R. Adedipe: pangolins in south-west Nigeria - current status and prognosis. Oryx, 28 (1), 1994, pp. 43-50
- ↑ Durojaye A Soewu and Temilolu A Adekanola: Traditional-Medical Knowledge and Perception of Pangolins (Manis sps) among the Awori People, Southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 7, 2011, p. 25 ( [1] )
- ↑ 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 tricuspis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. ( [2] ); last accessed on December 19, 2014
- ↑ C. Waterman, D. Pietersen, D. Soewu, L. Hywood and P. Rankin: Phataginus tetradactyla. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. ( [3] ); last accessed on December 8, 2014
Web links
- CITES: Appendices I, II and III, valid from 12 June 2013 (Pangolins (Pholidota) at CITES)