Philippine Pangolin

Philippine Pangolin
Philippine Pangolin
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pholidota
Family: Manidae
Genus: Manis
Species: M. culionensis
Binomial name
Manis culionensis
de Elera, 1915
Philippine Pangolin range

The Philippine Pangolin or Palawan Pangolin, also known as the Malintong (Manis culionensis), is a pangolin species endemic to the Palawan province of the Philippines. Its habitat includes primary and secondary forests as well as surrounding grasslands. This species is moderately common within its limited range but is at risk due to heavy hunting.[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Casto de Elera in 1915; it was also mentioned by de Elera in an 1895 work.[3][4] In the past, this species has been included with the Sunda Pangolin, Manis javanica, but has been considered a distinct species since 1998.[5] Five distinct morphological characteristics involving the skull and the scales have been identified which separate it from the closely related Manis javanica. Both M. javanica and M. culionensis are grouped in subgenus Paramanis.[6] Genetic isolation leading to the speciation between these species is hypothesized to have been caused by rising sea levels severing a land bridge from Borneo in the Early Pleistocene.[7]

References

  1. ^ Batin, G. & Widmann, P. (2008). "Manis colionensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/136497. Retrieved 20 August 2009.  Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
  2. ^ Manis culionensis in A synopsis of the mammilian fauna of the Phillipene Islands. The Field Museum.
  3. ^ Schlitter, Duane A. (16 November 2005). "Order Pholidota (pp. 530-531)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 530. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13900010. 
  4. ^ Catálogo sistemático de toda la fauna de Filipinas: conocida hasta el presente, y á la vez el de la colección zoológica del Museo de PP. Dominicos del Colegio-universidad de Sto. Tomás de Manila, escrito con motivo de la Exposición Regional Filipina Imprenta del Colegio de Santo Tomás, 1895
  5. ^ ITIS Standard Report for Manis culionensis Taxonomic Serial No.: 727709
  6. ^ Paramanis in Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the world: 3rd Edition
  7. ^ ASSESSING THE TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE PALAWAN PANGOLIN MANIS CULIONENSIS (PHOLIDOTA) USING DISCRETE MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS P. Gaubert and A. Antunes. Journal of Mammalogy Volume 86, Issue 6 (December 2005) Article: pp. 1068–1074
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