Editing Pangolin (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Pangolin skeletons.JPG|thumb|Pangolin [[skeleton]]s at the [[Museum of Osteology]] (2009)]]
[[File:Pangolin scale histology.jpg|thumb|Schematic drawing of pangolin scale histology]]

The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping, plate-like scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins, but harden as the animal matures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Hui-Ming |last2=Liu |first2=Ping |last3=Zhang |first3=Xiu-Juan |last4=Li |first4=Lin-Miao |last5=Jiang |first5=Hai-Ying |last6=Yan |first6=Hua |last7=Hou |first7=Fang-Hui |last8=Chen |first8=Jin-Ping|display-authors=4 |date=2020-09-03 |title=Combined proteomics and transcriptomics reveal the genetic basis underlying the differentiation of skin appendages and immunity in pangolin |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=14566 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-71513-w |pmid=32884035 |issn=2045-2322|pmc=7471334 |bibcode=2020NatSR..1014566L }}</ref> They are made of [[keratin]], the same material from which human [[fingernails]] and [[tetrapod]] [[Claw#Tetrapods|claws]] are made, and are structurally and compositionally very different from the scales of reptiles.<ref name=Spearman2008>{{Cite journal |last=Spearman |first=R.I.C. |title=On the nature of the horny scales of the pangolin |journal=[[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxfordshire, England |volume=46 |issue=310 |pages=267–273 |year=2008 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1967.tb00508.x}}</ref> The pangolin's scaled body is comparable in appearance to a [[pine cone]]. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as [[Armour (anatomy)|armor]], while it protects its face by tucking it under its tail. The scales are sharp, providing extra defense from predators.<ref name=Wang2016>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Bin  |last2=Yang |first2=Wen |last3=Sherman |first3=Vincent R. |last4=Meyers |first4=Marc A. |title=Pangolin armor: Overlapping, structure, and mechanical properties of the keratinous scales |journal=Acta Biomaterialia |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |location=Oxfordshire, England |volume=41 |pages=60–74 |year=2016 |doi=10.1016/j.actbio.2016.05.028 |pmid=27221793}}</ref>

Pangolins can emit a noxious-smelling chemical from [[Anal gland|glands near the anus]], similar to the spray of a [[skunk]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pangolins.org/|title= Meet the Pangolin! |year=2015 |publisher=Pangolins.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222010139/http://pangolins.org/ |archive-date=22 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> They have short legs, with sharp claws which they use for burrowing into [[ant]] and [[termite]] mounds and for climbing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Manis_tricuspis/ |last1=Andrews |first1=James |title=''Manis tricuspis'': tree pangolin |year=2011 |website=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221202454/http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Manis_tricuspis/ |archive-date=21 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The tongues of pangolins are extremely long, and like those of the [[giant anteater]] and the [[tube-lipped nectar bat]], the root of the tongue is not attached to the [[hyoid]] bone but is in the [[thorax]] between the [[sternum]] and the [[vertebrate trachea|trachea]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chan |first=Lap-Ki |title=Extrinsic Lingual Musculature of Two Pangolins (Pholidota: Manidae) |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxfordshire, England |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=472–480 |year=1995 |doi=10.2307/1382356 |jstor=1382356}}</ref> Large pangolins can extend their tongues as much as {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=on}}, with a diameter of only about {{convert|0.5|cm|in|frac=5|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Mondadori/>