PANGOLINS. 



227 



The pangolins may be briefly characterised as a family by the total want of 

 teeth, and by the upper surface and sides of the body and the whole tail being 

 covered with a number of large, overlapping horny scales. Their limbs are short, 

 with rive toes on each foot ; and the long, worm-like tongue is capable of being 

 protruded a great distance from the small mouth. The head is small, long, and 

 pointed, with the eyes small, ami the external conchs of the ears minute or rudi- 

 mentary. The scales of the body extend on to the outer sides of the limbs ; but 

 they are absent from the inner surfaces of the latter, as well as from the sides of 

 the head and the inferior aspect of the body, all of which are sparsely covered 

 with hair. There are often a few coarse, bristly hairs arising from between the 

 scales. All the toes have slightly curved claws, which are much longer in the 

 front than in the hind-feet, and of which the third is larger than either of the 

 others. In walking, the front toes are bent under the feet, and the weight of the 

 body supported mainly on the upper and outer sides oi the fourth and fifth toes. 

 On the other hand, the hind-feet are of the ordinary plantigrade type, and have 



.SKELETON OP PANGOLIN. 



the whole sole applied to the ground in walking. The female has a pair of teats 

 situated on the breast. In the skeleton the skull is remarkable for its smooth and 

 solid structure, and almost conical form. The zygomatic, or cheek-arch, is incom- 

 plete, and there is no distinction between the sockets of the eyes and the fossae at 

 the hinder extremity of the skull ; while the palate is much produced backwards. 

 The lower jaw is extremely slight and slender, without any ascending or descending 

 processes. In many of these respects the skulls of the pangolins approach those 

 of the true ant-eaters ; but it must be remembered that such resemblances are 

 purely adaptive, and are brought about by the identical modes of life of the two 

 groups. Two other points may be noticed in the skeleton; — firstly, that collar- 

 bones are wanting; and, secondly, that the terminal joints of the claws are 

 deeply cleft. 



Distribution and The pangolins, of which the largest species attains a length of 



Mode of Life. aDou t 6 feet, are exclusively confined to Africa south of the 

 Sahara, and South-Eastern Asia. Africa possesses the largest species, and the 

 greater number of forms. The pangolins are essentially burrowing and nocturnal 

 animals, feeding exclusively on ants and termites, which are captured on the long 

 extensile tongue. They have the power of rolling themselves into a ball as a 



