Dietary composition and foraging habitats of the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in a tropical lowland forest-associated landscape in southwest Sri Lanka

Karawita, Hasitha; Perera, Priyan; Dayawansa, Nihal; Dias, S.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00880

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Nepal is rich in wildlife diversity as a consequence of community-based forest management systems [70,71]. The extent of forests and shrubs in the hills and mountainous regions of Nepal is increasing [72], therefore resulting in more extensive refuge areas for both Chinese pangolins and their prey species [73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

et al. 2020

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Anthropogenic activities have driven many wildlife species towards extinction. Among these species, the geographic distributions of many are poorly documented, which can limit the effectiveness of conservation. The critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is experiencing population decline throughout its range due to land-use changes and illegal trade for food and traditional medicine. Using distribution records and maximum entropy modeling, we predicted the potential distribution of the Chinese pangolin across Nepal. Most suitable potential habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred in forest areas of the mid-hill region in central and eastern Nepal, followed by cultivated land. Almost all potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin occurred outside of protected areas, and most of them were encroached upon by cultivated land, human settlements, and infrastructure developments. The results from this study provide baseline information on the potential suitable habitats of the Chinese pangolin in Nepal, which helps to develop site- and species-specific management plans and to identify priority areas to minimize the current threats to the pangolin and enhance the stewardship of species conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

et al. 2020

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“…Wear-out f claws are likely to depend on the edaphic conditions of an individual's home range. For instance, it has been observed that the Indian pangolins living in habitats with dry and rocky habitats have more worn-out claws than those living in rainforest habitats [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] .…”

Section: Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protocols for recording morphometric measurement of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

2020

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Accurate morphological description of species has essential implications in field identification and cladistics. Pangolins (Mammalia: Pholidota) are considered the world's most trafficked mammals. The Indian pangolin has a wide geographical distribution in the Indian subcontinent. However, morphoanatomical variations of M. crassicaudata across its range are poorly understood. The published morphoanatomical descriptions have disparities, partly due to the lack of standard protocols and procedures in morphometric data collection and reporting, thus making comparisons among different records less meaningful. This Method Article presents protocols and procedures to follow in morphometric data collection and reporting for M. Crassicaudata. Morphometric parameters can be measured and reported under three age classes; juvenile, sub-adult, and adult, as well as the sex to describe the species' sexual dimorphism. The proposed protocol includes 13 morphometric measurements of a pangolin body. Procedures to count and report the number of body scales with special reference to the body region of a pangolin and scale morph-type are described. Morphometry of the claws of forelimbs is described using the Curvature Linear Index [1] .

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“…The Indian pangolin is the only pangolin species occurring in Sri Lanka, and the species is distributed from coastal habitats up to 1850 m above sea level, covering most parts of the country [ 1 , 4 ]. With its behavioral plasticity, the Indian pangolin can inhabit an array of natural and human-modified habitats such as tropical lowland rain forests, dry-mixed evergreen forests, submontane to montane forests, scrublands, croplands such as rubber, oil palm, and tea, as well as rural home gardens [ 5 , 6 ]. Hunting, poaching, and trafficking, primarily driven by the demand for its keratinous scales and meat, have made the Indian pangolin threatened across its range [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hunting, poaching, and trafficking, primarily driven by the demand for its keratinous scales and meat, have made the Indian pangolin threatened across its range [ 2 ]. Despite being identified as “endangered” globally and nationally, limited studies have been conducted on Indian pangolins found in Sri Lanka [ 5 , 7 , 8 ], and the lack of scientific information on the species is a major impediment in the conservation of Indian pangolins [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature reports evidence for intraspecific variations in morphometrics of the Indian pangolin across its range [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Although the Indian pangolin occurs in most parts of South Asia, the Indian pangolin population in Sri Lanka may be of special interest owing to its geographical isolation from the mainland population [ 5 , 9 ]. However, morphometric variations of the Indian pangolin in Sri Lanka remain poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Updates on the Morphometric Characterization of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Sri Lanka

Algewatta

Perera

Karawita

et al. 2020

Animals

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An accurate morphological description and analysis based on reliable data are unavailable for the geographically isolated population of M. crassicaudata in Sri Lanka. This study provides the most updated morphological description of M. crassicaudata with special reference to body measurements directly obtained from 27 specimens collected island-wide. Morphological parameters were recorded under three age classes that were defined based on their body weight (BW) and total body length (TBL); juvenile (BW: <4.3 kg TBL: <56.0 cm), subadult (BW: 4.3–7.3 kg TBL: 56–101 cm), and adult (BW: >7.3 kg TBL: >101 cm) and gender to reveal sexual dimorphism based on morphometric parameters. The TBL of adult males ranged between 137 and 177 cm while body weight ranged between 20.4 and 48.8 kg. The average count of body scales was 511 ± 21. The body scales were found arranged in 13 longitudinal rows with the highest number of scales observed on the vertebral scale row (16 ± 1). Three major scale morphs were identified; broad rhombic scales, elongated kite-shaped scales, and folded shaped scales. Broad rhombic shaped scales was the dominant scale type (80.49%) on the body (405 ± 7). The tail-length to body-length ratio of an Indian pangolin was 0.87. The tail length of an Indian pangolin is a reliable predictor of the TBL and has potential implications in quick field data gathering.

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Dietary composition and foraging habitats of the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in a tropical lowland forest-associated landscape in southwest Sri Lanka

Cited by 17 publications

References 28 publications

Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

Potential Distribution of the Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Different Land Covers of Nepal: Implications for Conservation

Protocols for recording morphometric measurement of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

Updates on the Morphometric Characterization of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Sri Lanka

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