African tree pangolin (''Phataginus'') is a genus of African

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smut ...

s from subfamily small African pangolins (Phatagininae), within family Manidae. Its members are the more

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

of the African pangolins. The number of illegally trafficked pangolins from genus ''Phataginus'' were at least a shocking 895,000 from the years 2010 to 2019. The animal is hunted and poached for its scales and meat and is often used for the making of traditional medicine in places such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Attempts are still being made to help protect these mammals from trafficking and extinction, unfortunately their slow reproduction rate isn't much of assistance to this effort. Currently the

tree pangolin The tree pangolin (''Phataginus tricuspis'') is one of eight extant species of pangolins ("scaly anteaters"), and is native to equatorial Africa. Also known as the white-bellied pangolin or three-cusped pangolin, it is the most common of the ...

is listed as vulnerable. All of the pangolins species have been listed as vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered.Gaubert, P. (2020). "Development and characterization of 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the white-bellied pangolin ''Phataginus tricuspis'' (Mammalia, Pholidota). Molecular Biology Reports., 47(6), 4827–4833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-05511-6

Etymology

Constantine Rafinesque (1821) formed the Neo-Latin generic name ''Phataginus'' from the French term ''phatagin'', adopted by Count Buffon (1763) after the reported local name ''phatagin'' or ''phatagen'' used in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

Taxonomy

* Subfamily: Phatagininae (small African pangolins) ** Genus: ''Phataginus'' (African tree pangolin) *** '' Phataginus tetradactyla'' (Long-tailed pangolin) *** '' Phataginus tricuspis'' (Tree pangolin)

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of genus ''Phataginus'' within family Manidae.

References

Mammal genera Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque {{mammal-stub