When I first saw pangolin (Latin Pholidota), you may decide that before
you battleship, but it's completely different animals. Pangolin - that's
dinosaurs that relate to a number of placental mammals. The name comes
from the word lizard "pengguling", which in Malay means - "to curl into a
ball." The fact is that in case of danger pangolin is often rolled into
a ball
The present name in Latin sounds like Pholidota. Lizards of this kind
often have a body length of 30 to 88 inches, the size of the tail often
meets the size of the body. The mammal is significantly different from
their relatives appearance.
In the world there are only 8 species of these "dragon-hedgehogs" (we
call them as a joke). Some of them - 4 types - lives in the South and
Equatorial Africa, and the rest - in Southeast Asia.
Each species is unique in its own way. So now we have a quick rundown on
the general characteristics of pangolins, and then talk about each
individually.
These animals are very long tail, sometimes it may exceed the length of
the body of the animal. The whole upper part of the body, starting from
the middle of the face and ending with the tip of the tail, is covered
with dense rows of horny plates, gray-brown or brownish-yellow color.
This arrangement allows the animal scales, despite its slowness, quick
to fold up into a ball. "Unprotected" are only the nose, belly and the
inside of the legs. These places are covered with sparse short stiff
fur.
The rear edge of each flake is pointed. Over time, they can wear, but in
their place are new. The quantity of flakes remain unchanged. This
"dragon" cover has a purely protective function and has nothing to do
with the horn cover reptiles, such as crocodiles.
Pangolins are fed exclusively ants and termites, maybe that's why they
are a bit similar in appearance to the anteaters, especially elongated
snout and a small mouth opening. Like all animals with insectivorous
diet, pangolin tongue is long and sticky. Its length is about 40 cm
muscles, resulting in the language of action, are already through the
thorax and the pelvis reach
He has no teeth, so to grind living food, the stomach wall are covered
with horny epithelium with horny growths. In addition, Raptor swallow
pebbles can also disintegrants food
They obtain food by breaking the wall of ant hills with their powerful
claws. But that's not all. It turns out that saliva pangolin is very
attractive to ants, and they come running at her as if to honey.
Small eyes covered with thick lids, which are an excellent protection
against the encroachments of ants and termites. On vision and hearing
lizard can not count, but it has excellent sense of smell
Pangolin - nocturnal animals. They live in deep holes or hollows. Some
species are well climb trees. Move quite slowly - no more than 3.5 - 5
km / h. Therefore, when there is a threat, they curl up into a ball and
cover your head a powerful tail. To deploy them, require sufficient
strength and dexterity. This can be done only large and powerful
predators such as leopards and tigers. Another protective agent pangolin
is a smelly secret discharged from the anal glands.
Their exotic looks served as the perfect bait for the people. Locals
catch them not so much for their meat, which tastes like pork, but
mostly for the sake of the shell and skin flakes. Besides their horny
plates some people attribute miraculous powers - protection from attack
lions, and others - protection from witchcraft and disease.
These animals are solitary, but sometimes you can meet a female with a
small cub on a back. Progeny bring once a year, usually in winter.
Pregnancy lasts about 4-5 months. African pangolins usually give birth
to one calf, and Asian - from 1 to 3. The kid is born well-developed,
but hairless and with soft bristles that just a few days begin to
harden.
Like all mammals, the first period of his life young pangolin feed on
their mother's milk, and a month later moving to insectivorous diet. In
case of danger, the mother quickly hides her child in a "ring" of his
own body.
In 2012, Thai customs officers look at the pangolin during a press
conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Customs officers rescued 138 endangered
pangolins worth $ 46,000, which were going to take out and eat.
Two rescued pangolin sitting in a basket, Bangkok, Thailand
Pangolin can easily stand on its hind legs in order to have a good area
to consider. However, their main support is the tail. In case of danger
at the pangolin triggered a defensive reaction. They do not just curl up
into a ball, but also emit an unpleasant odor, which is used to repel
the enemy. If pangolin twisted together into a ball, it is difficult to
deploy.
Pangolin is difficult to maintain in captivity, as the main food of
dinosaurs is only a few species of insects. The stomach Raptor may be
from 150 to 2000, a variety of insects and termites.
