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A coat of armour made of gilded pangolin scales from India, presented in 1875–76 to the then Prince of Wales, the later Edward VII. As a result of increasing threats to pangolins, mainly in the form of illegal, international trade in pangolin skin, scales, and meat, these species have received increasing conservation attention in recent years ...
The ratio of scale size to osteoderm size and their organization vary by species. [7] The majority of species have a one to one ratio of scales to osteoderms, with little correlation between the layout. [3] In the girdle-tailed lizards, for example, the scales and osteoderms are of the same size and shape and are organized alongside each other.
Some geckos will eat their own shed skin. Snakes always shed the complete outer layer of skin in one piece. [1] Snake scales are not discrete but extensions of the epidermis, hence they are not shed separately but are ejected as a complete contiguous outer layer of skin during each moult, akin to a sock being turned inside out. [5]
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater, is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent. [2] Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. The colour of its scales varies depending on the colour of the earth in its surroundings.
The tail is 49–62 cm (19–24 in). Each dark brown to brownish yellow scale has three points, to which the specific name tricuspis refers. These scales cover the whole body besides the face, underbelly, and insides of the legs. [5] The scales are made of keratin, as are human fingernails, and are anchored at the base to the pangolin's skin.
The pangolin scales, which have an estimated price of around 40,000 baht ($1,129) per kilogram, are suspected to have been brought from Malaysia to Thailand, to be transported to Laos.
The long-tailed pangolin is myrmecophagous, primarily feeding on ants. They are the only known species of pangolin known not to depend on termites as a large portion of their diet. Using their well-developed sense of smell, they seek out arboreal ant nests, then tear them open with their strong, curved claws.
Officials say they seized and destroyed the scales in a stand against illegal wildlife trafficking. Nigeria burns $1.4m-worth of pangolin scales in anti-trafficking stand Skip to main content