A pangolin is any of the eight species of armored placental mammals belonging to the family Manidae. The name comes from the Malay word meaning "rolling over," describing their defensive behavior. These mammals are found in tropical Asia and Africa. They are covered in overlapping, brownish scales made of cemented hairs, except on their face and underside. Pangolins range from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet) long, excluding their tail, and weigh between 5 and 27 kg (10 to 60 pounds). Their head is short and conical, with small eyes, a long muzzle, and a wormlike tongue that can extend up to 25 cm (10 inches). They have short legs with sharp claws and a prehensile tail used for support. Pangolins face threats from hunting and trade, leading to their classification as threatened with extinction .

Where do pangolins live?

Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, live in both Asia and Africa. Some pangolin species, such as the African black-bellied pangolin and the Chinese pangolin, are almost entirely arboreal. Others, like the giant ground pangolin of Africa, are terrestrial. All pangolins are nocturnal and can swim a little. The terrestrial species live in burrows. They are timid animals and live alone or in pairs.

What does a pangolin look like?

Pangolins, belonging to the family Manidae, are placental mammals found in tropical Asia and Africa. Their name comes from the Malay word meaning "rolling over," which refers to their defense mechanism of curling into a ball when threatened. Pangolins range in length from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet), excluding the tail, and weigh between 5 and 27 kg (10 to 60 pounds). Their tail length ranges from 26 to 70 cm (10 to 28 inches). Their bodies are covered in overlapping, brownish scales made of cemented hairs, except for their face and underside. They have short, conical heads with small eyes, a long, toothless muzzle, and a wormlike tongue that can extend up to 25 cm (10 inches). Their legs are short with sharp claws, and they have a prehensile tail that acts as a support.

What do pangolins eat and how do they find their food?

Pangolins primarily consume termites, but they also eat ants and other insects. They are nocturnal animals that use their sense of smell to locate prey, and they use their forefeet to rip open nests to get to their food.

How do pangolins protect themselves from predators?

When threatened, the pangolin will curl into a ball, protecting itself with its erected scales. Pangolins can also emit an odorous secretion from anal glands to ward off enemies. However, larger predators, like leopards , lions , tigers , and hyenas , are sometimes strong enough to penetrate their armor.

Why are pangolins endangered and what is being done to help them?

Pangolins face endangerment due to high demand for their meat and body parts in traditional medicine, leading to their intensive poaching . All eight pangolin species are now threatened, with some classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. To combat this, conservation efforts include game management and patrolling by game wardens. International agreements, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), regulate the trade of pangolins. Some governments are also destroying confiscated wildlife products like pangolin scales to discourage the sale of these products.

pangolin

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Images & Videos

A pangolin walks through grass with a blue circle around it and the word endangered written in white across the image.

A pangolin curled into a tight ball, showing its overlapping brown scales, sits on green grass.

Black-bellied pangolin with dark fur and overlapping brown scales climbs among green leaves and branches in a forest in the Central African Republic.

World map showing the geographic ranges of endangered pangolin species, with color-coded regions across Africa and Asia. Each region is labeled with the pangolin species name-giant, white-bellied, black-bellied, Temminck's, Indian, Chinese, Philippine, and Sunda-and their conservation status, such as endangered, vulnerable, or critically endangered, is indicated near photos of each species.

At a Glance

pangolin summary

Quick Facts

Also called:: scaly anteater

Related Topics:: African black-bellied pangolin; Indian pangolin; Chinese pangolin; Sunda pangolin; giant pangolin

On the Web:: World Animal Rescue Network - Pangolin (Oct. 16, 2026)

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pangolin

mammal

Also known as: Manidae, scaly anteater

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 16, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a pangolin?
A pangolin is any of the eight species of armored placental mammals belonging to the family Manidae. The name comes from the Malay word meaning "rolling over," describing their defensive behavior.

These mammals are found in tropical Asia and Africa. They are covered in overlapping, brownish scales made of cemented hairs, except on their face and underside. Pangolins range from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet) long, excluding their tail, and weigh between 5 and 27 kg (10 to 60 pounds). Their head is short and conical, with small eyes, a long muzzle, and a wormlike tongue that can extend up to 25 cm (10 inches). They have short legs with sharp claws and a prehensile tail used for support.

Pangolins face threats from hunting and trade, leading to their classification as threatened with extinction.
2 Britannica Sources
1. poaching: Efforts to reduce poaching
2. pangolin
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where do pangolins live?
Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, live in both Asia and Africa. Some pangolin species, such as the African black-bellied pangolin and the Chinese pangolin, are almost entirely arboreal. Others, like the giant ground pangolin of Africa, are terrestrial.

All pangolins are nocturnal and can swim a little. The terrestrial species live in burrows. They are timid animals and live alone or in pairs.
2 Britannica Sources
1. pangolin: Natural history
2. Asia: Mammals
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What does a pangolin look like?
Pangolins, belonging to the family Manidae, are placental mammals found in tropical Asia and Africa. Their name comes from the Malay word meaning "rolling over," which refers to their defense mechanism of curling into a ball when threatened.

Pangolins range in length from 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet), excluding the tail, and weigh between 5 and 27 kg (10 to 60 pounds). Their tail length ranges from 26 to 70 cm (10 to 28 inches). Their bodies are covered in overlapping, brownish scales made of cemented hairs, except for their face and underside. They have short, conical heads with small eyes, a long, toothless muzzle, and a wormlike tongue that can extend up to 25 cm (10 inches). Their legs are short with sharp claws, and they have a prehensile tail that acts as a support.
1 Britannica Source
1. pangolin
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do pangolins eat and how do they find their food?
Pangolins primarily consume termites, but they also eat ants and other insects. They are nocturnal animals that use their sense of smell to locate prey, and they use their forefeet to rip open nests to get to their food.
2 Britannica Sources
1. pangolin: Natural history
2. Caudata: Food and feeding
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do pangolins protect themselves from predators?
When threatened, the pangolin will curl into a ball, protecting itself with its erected scales. Pangolins can also emit an odorous secretion from anal glands to ward off enemies. However, larger predators, like leopards, lions, tigers, and hyenas, are sometimes strong enough to penetrate their armor.
2 Britannica Sources
1. poaching: Efforts to reduce poaching
2. pangolin
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why are pangolins endangered and what is being done to help them?
Pangolins face endangerment due to high demand for their meat and body parts in traditional medicine, leading to their intensive poaching. All eight pangolin species are now threatened, with some classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.

To combat this, conservation efforts include game management and patrolling by game wardens. International agreements, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), regulate the trade of pangolins. Some governments are also destroying confiscated wildlife products like pangolin scales to discourage the sale of these products.
2 Britannica Sources
1. poaching: Efforts to reduce poaching
2. pangolin: Conservation status
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

pangolin, (family Manidae), any of about eight species of armoured placental mammals of the family Manidae (order Pholidota). The name pangolin, from the Malay meaning “rolling over,” refers to this animal’s habit of curling into a ball when threatened. Pangolins—which are typically classified in the genera Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia—are found in tropical Asia and Africa. The genus Manis is the most diverse with four recognized species; however, a 2026 paper provided strong genetic and morphological evidence that the Himalayan pangolin (M. aurita), previously classified as a subspecies of the Chinese pangolin (M. pentadactyla), is a separate species.

Natural history

Some pangolins, such as the African black-bellied pangolin (P. tetradactyla, also classified as M. longicaudata) and the Chinese pangolin (M. pentadactyla), are almost entirely arboreal; others, such as the giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea, also classified as M. gigantea) of Africa, are terrestrial. All are nocturnal and able to swim a little. Terrestrial forms live in burrows. Pangolins feed mainly on termites but also eat ants and other insects. They locate prey by smell and use their forefeet to rip open nests.

Their means of defense are the emission of an odorous secretion from large anal glands and the ploy of rolling up, presenting erected scales to the enemy. Still, larger predators such as leopards, lions, tigers, and hyenas are sometimes strong enough to penetrate the pangolin’s armour. Pangolins are timid and live alone or in pairs. In most species, only one young is born at a time, though broods of two or three offspring have been observed in some Asian species. Young pangolins are soft-scaled at birth and are carried on the female’s back for some time. Life span in the wild is unknown; however, some captive animals have lived as long as 20 years.

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Virologists have noted that the coronaviruses associated with the Sunda pangolin (M. javanica) and the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 associated with humans are morphologically and genetically similar. Some researchers reported that these viruses are close enough to suggest that the Sunda pangolin could have acted as an intermediate host that introduced the progenitor of SARS-CoV-2 into human beings.

Pangolins were once grouped with the true anteaters, sloths, and armadillos in the order Edentata, mainly because of superficial likenesses to South American anteaters. Pangolins differ from edentates, however, in many fundamental anatomic characteristics. The earliest fossil Pholidota date from the middle of the Eocene Epoch (56 million to 33.9 million years ago) in Germany.

Conservation status

All pangolin species have been hunted for their meat, and the organs, skin, scales, and other parts of the body are valued for their use in traditional medicine. As a result, populations of all eight species have fallen to the point that they became threatened with extinction during the early 21st century. By 2019 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had classifed two species—Temminick’s pangolin (S. temminickii) and the black-bellied pangolin (P. tetradactyla)—as vulnerable, three species—the Indian pangolin (M. crassicaudata), the white-bellied pangolin (P. tricuspis), and the giant ground pangolin—as endangered, and three species—the Philippine, or Palawan, pangolin (M. culionensis), the Sunda pangolin, and the Chinese pangolin—as critically endangered. So dire was the persecution of this group of animals that delegates at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora in Johannesburg, South Africa, voted to impose a ban on the international trade of all pangolins and their parts in 2016.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.

pangolin

Natural history

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