Sunday, March 28, 2010

Three-cusped pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis)

With its tough, scaly, armoured body, the three-cusped pangolin looks rather incongruous moving about amongst the foliage of tropical forests. However, with its long, prehensile tail which has a bare, sensory pad at the tip (4), and clawed feet (5), the three-cusped pangolin is well adapted to scale the trunks and branches of trees. Brown, sharp-edged, overlapping scales protect the body of the pangolin (2), which are attached at the base to its thick skin (5). Each of these artichoke-leaf shaped scales has three points, hence the common and scientific name tricuspis (2). The head of the three-cusped pangolin is small and pointed, with thick, heavy eyelids that protect its eyes from the bites of ants and termites on which it feeds (4) (5). For the same reason, its nostrils and ear openings can be closed by special muscles when feeding (4) (5). It feeds using its remarkably long tongue, which can extend to around 25 centimetres and is anchored to a point on the pelvis (5).
 VIDEO..

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