''Smutsia'' 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, better known as the African ground pangolins, from subfamily Smutsiinae, within family Manidae. It was formerly considered a subgenus of '' Manis''. Its members are the more

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

of the African pangolins.

Etymology

British naturalist

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

named ''Smutsia'' for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n naturalist Johannes Smuts (1808–1869), the first South African to write a

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

on mammals in 1832 (in which he described the species ''Manis temminckii'').

Taxonomy

* Subfamily: Smutsiinae (large African pangolins) ** Genus: ''Smutsia'' (African ground pangolin) *** ''

Smutsia gigantea The giant pangolin (''Smutsia gigantea'') is the largest species in the family of pangolins. Members of the species inhabit Africa with a range stretching along the equator from West Africa to Uganda. It subsists almost entirely on ants and t ...

'' (giant pangolin) *** '' Smutsia temminckii'' (ground pangolin) *** †''

Smutsia olteniensis ''Smutsia olteniensis'' is an extinct species of the genus ''Smutsia'', more commonly known as the African ground pangolins. This species lived during the Pleistocene epoch. Fossilized remains of the species were found in Romania, providing evi ...

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of genus ''Smutsia'' within family Manidae

References

Mammal genera Taxa described in 1865 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{mammal-stub