Crossword clues for pangolin
pangolin
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pangolin \Pan"go*lin\ (p[a^][ng]"g[-o]*l[i^]n), n. [Malay pang[=u]lang.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of Manis, Pholidotus, and related genera, found in Africa and Asia. They are covered with imbricated scales, and feed upon ants. Called also scaly ant-eater.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1774, "scaly toothless mammal of Java," from Malay peng-goling "roller," from its habit of curling into a ball; from peng- (denominative prefix) + goling "to roll." Later extended to related species in Asia and Africa.
Wiktionary
n. The scaly anteater; any of several long-tailed, scale-covered mammals of the order Pholidota of tropical Africa and Asia, the sole extant genus of which is ''Manis''.
WordNet
n. toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on ants and termites [syn: scaly anteater, anteater]
Wikipedia
Pangolins (also referred to as scaly anteaters or trenggiling) are mammals of the order Pholidota. The one extant family, Manidae, has three genera: Manis, which comprises four species living in Asia, Phataginus, which comprises two species living in Africa, and Smutsia, which comprises two species also living in Africa. These species range in size from . A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. The name pangolin comes from the Malay word "pengguling", meaning "something that rolls up". It is found in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia.
Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this adaptation. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites which they capture using their long, specially adapted tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring which are raised for about two years. Pangolins are threatened by hunting (for their meat and armor) and heavy deforestation of their natural habitats, and are the most trafficked mammal in the world. Of the eight species of pangolin, four species (Phataginus tetradactyla, P. tricuspis, Smutsia gigantea, and S. temminckii) are listed as vulnerable, two species (Manis crassicaudata and M. cullonensis) are listed as endangered, and two species (M. pentadactyla and M. javanica) are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Usage examples of "pangolin".
But before he could get control of the car the pangolin, its brass-red scales rippling with its run, charged again.
The pangolin rumbled alongside and dipped its head for another charge.
Nefandi was pushed up against the windshield, and he saw the pangolin first.
The pangolin had rolled to its feet and was shrugging itself off, watching after them glumly.
Halfway there, the scaly hulk of a pangolin reared out of the tall grass and honked angrily.
Blood gushed in all directions as the second pangolin swung at Mudge, who somehow managed to dodge aside while the first fell on top of him.
Behellua was nearly killed by a pangolin rex that whipped at him with its poisoned tongue.
The pangolin loosed a volley of darts that pattered into the floor beside my feet.
Fedya himself at the head of the scout party, slightly hunched over the shaggy mane of his pacer, resembled a predatory pangolin wriggling towards a fat fly entangled in the grass.
Because of the pangolins, there was no chance of cutting across the fertile land to an active highway or even of getting water until dusk.
Jon-Tom was still struggling with his pants when a couple of heavily armed pangolins came stumbling into their cabin.
We were shot out indiscriminately into the trickery of the slippery, rampaging decade, and the best we could do was cover our eyes and ears and genitalia like pangolins or armadillos and make sure that our soft underbellies were not exposed for either inspection or slaughter.
Here, pangolins from Asia, carnivores from North America, hoofed creatures from Africa, European insectivores like ancestral hedgehogs, and even anteaters from South America mingled and competed.
Examples of modem armored vertebrates are the turtles, armadillos, and pangolins, all relatively unsuccessful.
But he showed me prints of cobras, pangolins and shrew-mice, or drew them himself, telling me their names in London English.