Pangolin armadillo8/6/2023 The Indian pangolin is nocturnal and mostly active intermittently between 17:00 and 05:00 hr. It prefers soft and semi-sandy soil conditions suitable for digging burrows. In Sri Lanka, it was sighted at an elevation of 1,100 m (3,600 ft), and in the Nilgiri mountains at 2,300 m (7,500 ft). It inhabits grasslands and secondary forests, and is well adapted to dry areas and desert regions, but prefers more barren, hilly regions. The Indian pangolin has been recorded in various forest types, including Sri Lankan rainforest and plains to middle hill levels. The skin and scales make up about one-fourth to one-third of the total body mass of this species. It has 160–200 scales in total, about 40–46% of which are located on the tail. These protective scales are rigid and made of keratin. The most noticeable characteristic of the pangolin is its massive, scaled armour, which covers its upper face and its whole body with the exception of the belly and the inside of the legs. The pangolin has no teeth, but has strong stomach muscles to aid in digestion. It has powerful limbs, tipped with sharp, clawed digits. The pangolin possesses a cone-shaped head with small, dark eyes, and a long muzzle with a nose pad similar in color, or darker than, its pinkish-brown skin. Females are generally smaller than the males and have one pair of mammae. The Indian pangolin is a solitary, shy, slow-moving, nocturnal mammal. An early illustration of the "alungu" from Tharangambadi, 1768
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