Pengalins are animals, similar to anteaters, and possess scale armor all over their body, a lengthy tail and four legs. Plated armor allow these animals to effectively defend themselves against predators. The bodily characteristics of pangolins include large, hardened, overlapping scales similar to armor plating, a newborn pangolin has a softer shell, but it hardens as the animal matures. This armor is made out of keratin. Pangolins curl up into a ball when threatened, and will tuck its face underneath its tail in order to protect itself. They have extremely sharp claws which also helps with defence.Pangolins emot a noxious fumes to supplement the ultimate defence. They use their very sharp claws for burrowing into ant and termite mounds,
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Most of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae. They are quite particular and tend to consume only one or two species of insects, even when many species are available to them. A pangolin can consume 140 to 200 g of insects per day. Pangolins have an extremely poor sense of vision, so they rely heavily on smell and hearing. Pangolins lack teeth, so they have evolved other physical characteristics to assist them in eating ants and termites. Their skeletal structure is strong and they have muscular front legs that are quite useful for tearing into termite mounds. They use their powerful front claws to dig into trees, ground, and vegetation to find prey. Then they use their long tongues to probe inside the insect tunnels and to retrieve their prey. The structure of their tongue and stomach is key to aiding pangolins in obtaining and digesting insects. Their saliva is viscid, causing ants and termites to stick to their long tongues when they are hunting through insect tunnels. Without teeth, pangolins also lack the ability to chew; however, while foraging, they ingest small stones, known as gastroliths, which accumulate in their stomachs to help grind up ants. This part of their stomach is called the gizzard, and it is covered in keratinous spines. These spines further assist in the grinding up and digestion of the pangolin's
Most of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae. They are quite particular and tend to consume only one or two species of insects, even when many species are available to them. A pangolin can consume 140 to 200 g of insects per day. Pangolins have an extremely poor sense of vision, so they rely heavily on smell and hearing. Pangolins lack teeth, so they have evolved other physical characteristics to assist them in eating ants and termites. Their skeletal structure is strong and they have muscular front legs that are quite useful for tearing into termite mounds. They use their powerful front claws to dig into trees, ground, and vegetation to find prey. Then they use their long tongues to probe inside the insect tunnels and to retrieve their prey. The structure of their tongue and stomach is key to aiding pangolins in obtaining and digesting insects. Their saliva is viscid, causing ants and termites to stick to their long tongues when they are hunting through insect tunnels. Without teeth, pangolins also lack the ability to chew; however, while foraging, they ingest small stones, known as gastroliths, which accumulate in their stomachs to help grind up ants. This part of their stomach is called the gizzard, and it is covered in keratinous spines. These spines further assist in the grinding up and digestion of the pangolin's