Editing Pangolin (section)

==Behaviour==
[[File:Manis temminckii (29390603130).jpg|thumb|[[Ground pangolin]] in defensive posture]]
[[File:Pangolin defending itself from lions (Gir Forest, Gujarat, India).jpg|thumb|right|[[Indian pangolin]] defending itself against [[Asiatic lion]]s]]

Most pangolins are [[nocturnal]] animals<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Amelia E. |date=January 1994 |title=Husbandry of pangolins ''Manis'' spp |journal=International Zoo Yearbook |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=248–251 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1994.tb03578.x}}</ref> which use their well-developed sense of smell to find insects. The [[long-tailed pangolin]] is also active by day, while other species of pangolins spend most of the daytime sleeping, curled up into a ball ("[[volvation]]").<ref name=Mondadori>{{cite book |editor-first=Arnoldo |editor-last=Mondadori |title=Great Book of the Animal Kingdom |location=New York City |publisher=Arch Cape Press |year=1988 |page=252 |isbn=978-0517667910}}</ref>

[[Arboreal]] pangolins live in hollow trees, whereas the ground-dwelling species dig tunnels to a depth of {{convert|3.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Mondadori/>

Some pangolins walk with their front claws bent under the foot pad, although they use the entire foot pad on their rear limbs. Furthermore, some exhibit a [[Bipedalism|bipedal]] stance for some behavior, and may walk a few steps bipedally.<ref name="Mohapatra">{{cite journal |first1=Rajesh K. |last1=Mohapatra |first2=Sudarsen |last2=Panda |year=2014 |title=Behavioural descriptions of Indian pangolins (Manis crassicaudata) in captivity. |journal=[[International Journal of Zoology]] |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |location=London, England |volume=2014 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1155/2014/795062 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Pangolins are also good swimmers.<ref name=Mondadori/>

===Diet===
Pangolins are [[insectivory|insectivorous]]. Most of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae. They are somewhat particular and tend to consume only one or two species of insects, even when many species are available. A pangolin can consume {{convert|140|to|200|g|oz|frac=4|abbr=on}} of insects per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/diet.htm |title=Rollin' With the Pangolin – Diet |first=Craig |last=Grosshuesch |year=2012 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–La Crosse]] |location=La Crosse, Wisconsin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223020558/http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/diet.htm |archive-date=23 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Pangolins are an important regulator of termite populations in their natural habitats.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.7717/peerj.4140 |pmid=29302388 |pmc=5742527 |title=Transcriptomic analysis identifies genes and pathways related to myrmecophagy in the Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica) |journal=[[PeerJ]] |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |location=Corte Madera, California |volume=5 |pages=e4140 |year=2017 |last1=Ma |first1=Jing-E |last2=Li |first2=Lin-Miao |last3=Jiang |first3=Hai-Ying |last4=Zhang |first4=Xiu-Juan |last5=Li |first5=Juan |last6=Li |first6=Guan-Yu |last7=Yuan |first7=Li-Hong |last8=Wu |first8=Jun |last9=Chen |first9=Jin-Ping |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Pangolins have very poor [[Visual perception|vision]]. They also lack teeth. They rely heavily on [[Olfaction|smell]] and [[hearing]], and they have other physical characteristics to help them eat ants and termites. Their skeletal structure is sturdy and they have strong front legs used for tearing into termite mounds.<ref name="Rose-2010">{{Cite book |title=Xenarthra and Pholidota (Armadillos, Anteaters, Sloths and Pangolins) |last1=Rose |first1=K. D. |last2=Gaudin |first2=T. J.  |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |isbn=978-0470015902 |doi=10.1002/9780470015902.a0001556.pub2|s2cid=82107941 }}</ref> They use their powerful front claws to dig into trees, soil, and vegetation to find prey,<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Coulson, Ian M |author2=Heath, Martha E |date=December 1997 |title=Foraging behavior and ecology of the Cape pangolin (Manis temminckii) in north-western Zimbabwe |journal=African Journal of Ecology |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=361–369 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.101-89101.x |bibcode=1997AfJEc..35..361R |via=EBSCO}}</ref> then proceed to use their long tongues to probe inside the insect tunnels and to retrieve their prey.

The structure of their tongue and stomach is key to aiding pangolins in obtaining and digesting insects. Their [[saliva]] is sticky,<ref name="Rose-2010"/> causing ants and termites to stick to their long tongues when they are hunting through insect tunnels. Without teeth, pangolins cannot also chew;<ref name="Gutteridge2008">{{cite book |first=Lee |last=Gutteridge |title=The South African Bushveld: A Field Guide from the Waterberg |url={{GBurl|id=Dvk4ogj3SxcC|pg=PT36}} |year=2008 |publisher=30° South Publishers |location=Pinetown, South Africa |isbn=978-1-920143-13-8 |page=36}}</ref> but while [[foraging]], they ingest small stones ([[gastroliths]]), which accumulate in their stomachs to help to grind up ants.<ref name="Publishing2015">{{cite book |title=Wildlife of the World |url={{GBurl|id=qqFFCgAAQBAJ|p=215}} |year=2015 |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |location=London, England |isbn=978-1-4654-4959-7 |page=215}}</ref> This part of their stomach is called the [[gizzard]], and it is also covered in keratinous spines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Davit-Béal |first1=Tiphaine |last2=Tucker |first2=Abigail S. |last3=Sire |first3=Jean-Yves |date=1 April 2009 |title=Loss of teeth and enamel in tetrapods: fossil record, genetic data and morphological adaptations |journal=[[Journal of Anatomy]] |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |location=New York City |volume=214 |issue=4 |pages=477–501 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01060.x |pmid=19422426 |pmc=2736120}}</ref> These spines further aid in the grinding up and digestion of the pangolin's prey.

Some species, such as the [[tree pangolin]], use their strong, [[prehensile]] tails to hang from tree branches and strip away bark from the trunk, exposing insect nests inside.<ref name="Prothero2016">{{cite book |first=Donald R. |last=Prothero |title=The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals |url={{GBurl|id=eiftDAAAQBAJ|p=118}} |year=2016 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-1-4008-8445-2 |page=118}}</ref>

===Reproduction===
[[File:Philippine Pangolin Curled-up by Gregg Yan.jpg|thumb|A [[Philippine pangolin]] pup and its mother, a [[critically endangered]] species [[endemic]] to the [[Palawan]] island group. It is threatened by illegal poaching for the [[pangolin trade]] to China and [[Vietnam]], where it is regarded as a luxury medicinal delicacy.<ref name="Fabro">{{cite news |last1=Fabro |first1=Keith Anthony S. |title=All hope is not lost for vanishing Palawan pangolin |url=https://www.rappler.com/science-nature/environment/232548-all-hope-not-lost-vanishing-palawan-pangolin |access-date=14 December 2019 |work=Rappler |date=10 June 2019}}</ref>]]

Pangolins are solitary and meet only to have sex, with mating typically taking place at night after the male and female pangolin meet near a watering hole. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 40% more. While the mating season is not defined, they typically mate once each year, usually during the summer or autumn. Rather than the males seeking out the females, males [[scent marking|mark their location with urine or feces]] and the females find them. If competition over a female occurs, the males use their tails as clubs to fight for the opportunity to mate with her.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/reproduction.htm |title=Rollin' With the Pangolin – Reproduction |first=Craig |last=Grosshuesch |year=2012 |publisher=University of Wisconsin–La Crosse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223040747/http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/grosshue_crai/reproduction.htm |archive-date=23 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Gestation]] periods differ by species, ranging from roughly 70 to 140 days.<ref name="Hua-2015">{{cite journal |last1=Hua |first1=Liushuai |last2=Gong |first2=Shiping |last3=Wang |first3=Fumin |last4=Li |first4=Weiye |last5=Ge |first5=Yan |last6=Li |first6=Xiaonan |last7=Hou |first7=Fanghui |title=Captive breeding of pangolins: current status, problems and future prospects |journal=ZooKeys |date=8 June 2015 |issue=507 |pages=99–114 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.507.6970 |pmid=26155072 |pmc=4490220|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015ZooK..507...99H }}</ref> African pangolin females usually give birth to a single offspring at a time, but the Asiatic species may give birth to from one to three.<ref name=Mondadori/> Weight at birth is {{convert|80|to|450|g|oz|frac=4|abbr=on}}, and the average length is {{convert|150|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}. At the time of birth, the scales are soft and white. After several days, they harden and darken to resemble those of an adult pangolin. During the vulnerable stage, the mother stays with her offspring in the burrow, nursing it, and wraps her body around it if she senses danger. The young cling to the mother's tail as she moves about, although, in burrowing species, they remain in the burrow for the first two to four weeks of life. At one month, they first leave the burrow riding on the mother's back. [[Weaning]] takes place around three months of age, when the young begin to eat insects in addition to nursing. At two years of age, the offspring are sexually mature and are abandoned by the mother.<ref name=EoM>{{cite book |last=Dickman |first=Christopher R. |editor-last=MacDonald |editor-first=D. |year=1984 |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/780 780–781] |isbn=978-0-87196-871-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/780}}</ref>