H4 Mammals of Eastern Asia 
row their way to the very center of the hardest termite nests, 
entering through one side and hollowing out the interior. 
Though so fond of termites for food, they are reported also to 
consume quantities of true stinging ants. Besides insects, they 
are supposed to swallow tiny pebbles. A Pangolin (Phatages) 
kept in captivity in Ceylon soon learned to take milk and even 
became reluctant to accept termites. 
The; sense of smell seems strongly developed. That of sight, 
on the contrary, is poor. The reduction of the external ear by 
no means implies poor hearing but may be correlated instead 
with the animal's burrowing habits. 
A large fossil species of Pangolin discovered in Java was 
estimated to have reached a length of about 8 feet. 
The Common or Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla, 
originally found in Formosa, occurs all across southern China 
to Hainan, Indo-China, Siam, Burma, and Assam. 
Fig. 23. Common Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla. 
The color of the scales may be dark or light gray-brown, or 
somewhat the color of horn; the underparts of the body, not of 
the tail, clad with coarse thin hair instead of scales, are grayish 
white or brownish white. Typically there is a membranous pad 
beneath the very tip of the tail. The length of the head and body 
in Chinese specimens is usually from 18 to 20 inches, of the tail 
10 to 13 inches, the hind foot 2% inches. A male specimen from 
the Chin Hills, Burma, had the corresponding dimensions 30 
