Himalayan pangolin confirmed as a distinct species

An international team of researchers has revalidated the Himalayan pangolin as a distinct living species, scientifically named Manis aurita, separate from the Chinese pangolin.

• The findings, published in the Communications Biology journal, are based on extensive genomic and morphological evidence.
• For decades, the Himalayan pangolin had been classified as a subspecies of the Chinese pangolin.
• Researchers sequenced the original 1836 lectotype specimen and compared it with modern genetic data to establish the species’ distinct identity.
• The study concluded that climate change during the Early Pleistocene Epoch, around 1.8 million years ago, drove the evolutionary divergence of the Himalayan and Chinese pangolin lineages.
• Unlike the Chinese pangolin, which benefited from relatively stable climatic conditions in southern China, the Himalayan pangolin evolved in a restricted and climatically unstable mountain habitat, making it more vulnerable to long-term population decline.
• The Himalayan pangolin is found only in the southern Himalayan foothills, with confirmed populations in Nepal, South Tibet, and Northeast India, including Assam.

About Pangolins

• Pangolins belong to the order Pholidota and are medium-sized mammals found only in Asia and Africa.
• They are the only mammals covered with keratinized scales, which unfortunately makes them prime targets for illegal wildlife trade.
• Pangolins are solitary, primarily nocturnal, and are commonly known as scaly anteaters because they feed mainly on ants and termites.
• They are regarded as the most trafficked mammals in the world, with illegal demand driven by their scales and meat, particularly in Asia and increasingly in Africa.
• All eight pangolin species are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits international commercial trade in wild-caught specimens.
• All pangolin species are also recognised as Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species.
• Pangolin Species: There are eight recognised species of pangolins worldwide.
• Pangolins in India: India is home to two pangolin species: Indian pangolin & Chinese pangolin .

Sources: DTE, Communications Biology & WWF

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