The Indian pangolin is a solitary, shy, slow-moving, nocturnal mammal. It is about 84–122 cm long from head to tail, the tail usually being 33–47 cm long, and weighs 10–16 kg. Females are generally smaller than the males and have one pair of mammae. The pangolin possesses a cone-shaped head with small, dark eyes, and a long muzzle with a nose pad similar in color, or darker than, its pinkish-brown skin. It has powerful limbs, tipped with sharp, clawed digits. It is an almost exclusive insectivore and principally subsists on ants and termites, which it catches with a specially adapted long, sticky tongue. The pangolin has no teeth, but has strong stomach muscles to aid in digestion. The most noticeable chareristic of the pangolin is its massive, scaled armour, which covers its upper face and its whole body with the exception of the belly and the inside of the legs. These protective scales are rigid and made of keratin. It has 160-200 scales in total, about 40-46% of which are located on the tail. Scales can be 6.5–7 cm long, 8.5 cm wide, and weigh 7-10 grams. The skin and scales make up about one-fourth to one-third of the total body mass of this species.
Category
📺
TV