Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Pangolin

Lovely Mr. Stephen Fry just posted this picture on his Twitter feed. I'd never heard of this animal before. Now I have. For the rest of you, here is a wiki explanation:

"Pangolins (pronounced /ˈpæŋgəlɪn/) or scaly anteaters or Trenggiling are mammals in the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family (Manidae) and one genus (Manis) of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with this adaptation.[2] They are found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The name "pangolin" derives from the Malay word pengguling ("something that rolls up"). Pangolins are nocturnal animals, using their well-developed sense of smell to find insects. The long-tailed pangolin is also active by day. Pangolins spend most of the daytime sleeping, curled up into a ball.[3]"

Am trying hard to resist an aaaaahhhhh how sweet. Nope. Can't resist it. Aaaaahhhhh, what a cutie :-)

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous8:30 pm

    ...um..to me hard to find
    the cuty part..though..
    seems like big snake..

    ReplyDelete