Smutsia Late | |
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Pangolins from genus Smutsia | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Pholidota |
Family: | Manidae |
Subfamily: | Smutsiinae Gray, 1873 [2] |
Genus: | Smutsia Gray, 1865 [3] |
Type species | |
Smutsia gigantea Illiger, 1815 | |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
synonyms of subfamily:
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African ground pangolin (Smutsia - "Smuts's animal") is a genus of pangolins from subfamily Smutsiinae within family Manidae. It was formerly considered a subgenus of genus Manis . [4] Its members are the more terrestrial of the African pangolins. [5] In the past, this genus was also present in Europe. [6]
Description
The Smutsia species can be easily distinguished due to a layer of protective horny scales covering their long streamlined bodies, small cone-shaped heads, and thick tails. Resembling artichoke leaves, the scales are composed of fused hairs. When threatened, members of the species roll into an impenetrable ball, leaving the sharp, yellow-brown scales exposed to the predator.
Diet and nutrition
Ground pangolins are carnivorous animals which mainly eat termites and ants, though larvae and other soft-bodied insects are also consumed on occasion.
Mating life
Ground pangolins reach sexual maturity at around 5–7 years of age. The species is described as polygynous: one male will mate with multiple females, but females tend to mate with only a single male. The gestation period lasts for 139 days, with each pregnancy yielding a single offspring. Mothers and their young shelter underground until the pups reach 2 to 4 weeks of age, at which stage they are carried outside the nest, though they remain with their mothers for 3 months.
British naturalist John Edward Gray named Smutsia for South African naturalist Johannes Smuts (1808–1869), [7] [8] the first South African to write a treatise on mammals in 1832 (in which he described the species Manis temminckii ).
Phylogenetic position of genus Smutsia within family Manidae [10] [11] [12] [1]
Pholidotamorpha |
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(Pholidotasensu lato) |
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