Ground pangolin
Smutsia temminckii (Smuts, 1832)
The ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) is a species in the family Manidae, order Pholidota. Recorded adults weigh 7.18 kg to 9.59 kg and live up to 3.16 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the ground pangolin
- Weight
- 7.18 kg – 9.59 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3.16 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 140 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.07 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the ground pangolin live?
Not recorded
What is the ground pangolin?
The ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), also known as Temminck's pangolin, Cape pangolin or steppe pangolin is a species of pangolin from genus Smutsia of subfamily Smutsiinae the within family Manidae. It is one of four species of pangolins which can be found in Africa, and the only one in southern and eastern Africa. The animal was named for the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
From the Wikipedia article “Ground pangolin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ground_pangolin&oldid=1377808247), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ground pangolin endangered?
The ground pangolin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the ground pangolin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPholidota
- familyManidae
- genusSmutsia
- SpeciesSmutsia temminckii (Smuts, 1832)
Synonyms Manis temminckii, Phatages hedenborgii
Other names and names in other languages (47)
- Cape pangolinEnglish
- PangolinEnglish
- Scaly anteaterEnglish
- South African pangolinEnglish
- South African pangolinEnglish
- Steppe pangolinEnglish
- Temminck's ground pangolinEnglish
- Temminck's pangolinEnglish
- Temminck’s ground pangolinEnglish
- Temminck’s ground pangolinEnglish
- IetermagôAfrikaans
- IetermagôgAfrikaans
- Suider-Afrikaanse IetermagogAfrikaans
- YstermagôgAfrikaans
- بنغول الأرضArabic
- بنغول الرأسArabic
- بنغول تيمينكArabic
- luskoun stepníCzech
- Temmincks skældyrDanish
- SteppenschuppentierGerman
- Χερσαίος ΠαγκολίνοςGreek
- ManisSpanish
- Pangolín de TemmickSpanish
- Pangolín del CaboSpanish
- Pangolin terrestreSpanish
- savannimuurahaiskäpyFinnish
- Pangolin de TemminckFrench
- Pangolin terrestre du CapFrench
- Tömpefarkú tobzoskaHungarian
- PangolinoItalian
- サバンナセンザンコウJapanese
- SavannepangolinNorwegian Bokmål
- SavanneskjelldyrNorwegian Bokmål
- Temmincks SchubdierDutch
- mokgagaNorthern Sotho
- pangolin ziemnyPolish
- Łuskowiec stepowyPolish
- Łuskowiec ziemnyPolish
- Pangolim‑de‑temminckPortuguese
- Степной ящерRussian
- hakaShona
- hambakubvuShona
- stäppmyrkottSwedish
- KgagaTswana
- 南非穿山甲Chinese
- iMfinyeziZulu
- sandawanaZulu
Relatives of the ground pangolin
Other species in the same genus Smutsia.
Giant pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
CompareGround pangolin vs Giant pangolinGround pangolin vs Smutsia olteniensis
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the ground pangolin?
An adult ground pangolin weighs 7.18 kg – 9.59 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the ground pangolin endangered?
The ground pangolin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the ground pangolin live?
The ground pangolin has a recorded lifespan of 3.16 years.
How long is the ground pangolin pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 140 days.
What kind of animal is the ground pangolin?
The ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) belongs to the family Manidae in the order Pholidota.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-pangolin
“Ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-pangolin.
@misc{ground_pangolin_2026,
title = {Ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-pangolin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}