The Insane Biology of: The Pangolin

Pangolins possess three oversized claws per forefoot (especially the prominent middle one) so large they cannot walk flat-footed, instead tucking claws under and knuckle-walking like gorillas, with some species walking semi-bipedally in “the cutest way physically possible.”

Eight pangolin species (“scaly anteaters,” “walking pine cones,” “ambulatory artichokes”) inhabit Asia and Africa, ranging from tiny 1.6kg arboreal specialists to 30+kg ground giants, with closest relatives surprisingly being carnivores like bears, cats, and dogs.

Pangolins play quiet but crucial ecosystem roles by consuming up to 70 million ants and termites annually per individual, regulating insect populations and engineering soil through their foraging activities.

A 2023 study developed powerful genetic forensics tracing confiscated pangolin scales to their origins within 70km, revealing that 98% of Hong Kong seizures (2012-2018) came from two Cameroon border regions, contradicting previous assumptions about Nigerian sources.

Pangolins are the only mammals with scales—keratinized epidermal structures arranged in hexagonal patterns creating armor stronger than chain mail against blunt or piercing attacks, though made from the same material as hair and fingernails.

Manis mysteria, a possible ninth pangolin species, was discovered through genetic analysis of confiscated scales from Hong Kong believed to originate in Southeast Asia, representing a deeply divergent lineage splitting from other Asian pangolins ~5 million years ago.

Pangolins possess tongues as long as their entire bodies—“like having a tape measure for a tongue that comes from your belly button”—enabling efficient ant and termite capture in narrow tunnels and crevices.

Over 1 million pangolins were trafficked in the last decade, making them the single most trafficked mammal globally, with white-bellied pangolins currently most targeted as Asian populations collapsed into critical endangerment.