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pangolin
pangolin , armored, toothless mammal of tropical Asia and Africa. Pangolins range in length from 3 to 6 ft (90–180 cm) including the long, broad tail. Their snouts are narrow and pointed. The body is low to the ground and is covered with large, triangular, overlapping scales on the back, the sides, the outer sides of the limbs, and the entire tail. The belly is covered with sparse hair. When threatened, the animal rolls into a ball and erects the scales, points upward, so that it resembles a large pinecone. It also secretes a foul-smelling liquid. Pangolins, also called scaly anteaters, break open logs with their large, powerful claws and use their exceedingly long, slender tongues to lap up the insects on which they feed. Members of some species are tree dwellers and have prehensile, or grasping, tails; others are terrestrial. Pangolins are not closely related to any other living mammals, and their ancestry is not known. There are seven species, all of the genus Manis. In Africa, large numbers of pangolins are killed for their meat and scales by the local inhabitants, and the future of one species, the Cape pangolin, is seriously endangered. Unless protected, the future of three Asian pangolins is also uncertain. They are classified as phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, family Manidae, order Pholidota. |
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"pangolin." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pangolin." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pangolin.html "pangolin." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pangolin.html |
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Manidae
Manidae (pangolins, scaly ant-eaters; cohort Unguiculata, order Pholidota) A family of animals which are similar superficially to the New World ant-eaters, to which they may be related distantly. Pangolins (or scaly ant-eaters) are nocturnal, insectivorous, terrestrial, or arboreal mammals up to 1.5 m long, lacking teeth, with elongated snouts, and tongues that are long, thin, and sticky. There are long claws on all five digits of each limb. The tail is long and prehensile in arboreal species. The dorsal surface of the body is covered with overlapping epidermal scales, and a manid will roll itself into a ball when threatened. The eyes and ears are small, the stomach simple. The brain is very small, the hemispheres folded. There is one genus, Manis, and several species, distributed throughout the Old World tropics except for Madagascar and Australia.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Manidae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "Manidae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Manidae.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "Manidae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Manidae.html |
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pangolin
pan·go·lin / ˈpanggəlin; pangˈgōlin/ • n. a mammal (family Manidae) of Asia (genus Manis) and Africa (genus Phataginus) that has a body covered with horny overlapping scales, a small head with elongated snout, a long sticky tongue for catching ants and termites, and a thick, tapering tail. Also called scaly anteater. |
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"pangolin." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pangolin." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pangolin.html "pangolin." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pangolin.html |
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pangolin
pangolin (scaly anteater) Any of several species of toothless insectivorous mammals, covered with horny overlapping plates, that live in Asia and Africa. It has short, powerful forelegs with which it climbs trees and tears open the nests of tree ants, on which it feeds. Length: to 175cm (70in). Family Manidae; genus Manis.
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"pangolin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pangolin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pangolin.html "pangolin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pangolin.html |
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pangolin
pangolin scaly ant-eater. XVIII. — Malay pěngguling, f. pěng- (denominative element) + guling roll, with ref. to its habit of rolling itself up.
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T. F. HOAD. "pangolin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pangolin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pangolin.html T. F. HOAD. "pangolin." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pangolin.html |
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pangolin
pangolin See MANIDAE.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "pangolin." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "pangolin." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-pangolin.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "pangolin." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-pangolin.html |
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pangolin
pangolin •Alun, Malin, Tallinn
•Jacklin • franklin
•chaplain, Chaplin
•ratline
•Carlin, marlin, marline, Stalin
•Helen, Llewelyn
•Mechlin
•Emlyn, gremlin, Kremlin
•Galen • capelin • kylin • Evelyn
•Enniskillen, penicillin, villein
•Hamelin • Marilyn • discipline
•Colin, Dolin
•goblin, hobgoblin
•Loughlin
•Joplin, poplin
•compline • tarpaulin
•Magdalen, maudlin
•bowline, pangolin
•Ventolin • moulin • Lublin • Brooklyn
•masculine • insulin • globulin
•mullein • Dublin • dunlin • muslin
•kaolin • chamberlain • Michelin
•madeleine • Mary Magdalene
•Gwendolen • francolin • mescaline
•formalin • lanolin
•adrenalin, noradrenalin
•crinoline • zeppelin • cipolin
•Carolyn • Jocelyn • porcelain • Ritalin
•Ottoline
•javelin, ravelin
•Rosalyn
•merlin, purlin
•Dunfermline • purslane
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Cite this article
"pangolin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pangolin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pangolin.html "pangolin." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pangolin.html |
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