Indian pangolin
Manis crassicaudata É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), also called the thick-tailed pangolin, is a mammal in the order Pholidota and the family Manidae. It is a medium-sized invertivore with an adult body mass of 8.5 kg, and up to 12 kg reported by our sources.
Quick facts about the Indian pangolin
The Indian pangolin is nocturnal and arboreal, and its habitats are forest and grassland. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has one young per litter and one litter per year.
- Weight
- 8.46 kg – 12 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 13.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 20 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 68 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
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Indian pangolin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the Indian pangolin live?
Not recorded
What is the Indian pangolin?
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater, is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent.
Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. The colour of its scales varies depending on the colour of the earth in its surroundings. It can also curl itself into a ball as self-defence against predators such as the tiger.
It is an insectivore feeding on ants and termites, digging them out of mounds and logs using its long claws, which are as long as its fore limbs. It is nocturnal and rests in deep burrows during the day.
It is not common anywhere in its range, and is threatened by hunting for its meat and various body parts used in traditional medicine.
From the Wikipedia article “Indian pangolin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_pangolin&oldid=1381276701), 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 Indian pangolin endangered?
The Indian pangolin is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very 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 Endangered species.
How is the Indian pangolin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPholidota
- familyManidae
- genusManis
- SpeciesManis crassicaudata É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803
Synonyms Manis crassicaudata, Pholidotus indicus
Other names and names in other languages (6)
- Thick-tailed pangolinEnglish
- Thick-tailed pangolinEnglish
- Thick-tailed pangolinEnglish
- Pangolín IndioSpanish
- Pangolin à grosse queueFrench
- Grand pangolin de l'IndeFrench
Relatives of the Indian pangolin
Other species in the same genus Manis.
Sunda pangolin
Manis javanica
Chinese pangolin
Manis pentadactyla
Philippine pangolin
Manis culionensis
Cryptic pangolin
Manis mysteria
Indo-Burmese pangolin
Manis indoburmanica
CompareIndian pangolin vs Sunda pangolinIndian pangolin vs Chinese pangolinIndian pangolin vs Philippine pangolinIndian pangolin vs Cryptic pangolin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Indian pangolin?
The Indian pangolin is a mammal in the order Pholidota and the family Manidae. Its scientific name is Manis crassicaudata.
How heavy is the Indian pangolin?
The Indian pangolin has an adult body mass of 8.5 kg, and the highest value reported by our sources is 12 kg.
What does the Indian pangolin eat?
The Indian pangolin is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
What habitats does the Indian pangolin live in?
The Indian pangolin lives in forest and grassland. It is nocturnal and arboreal.
Is the Indian pangolin endangered?
Yes, the Indian pangolin is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does the Indian pangolin live?
The Indian pangolin has a lifespan of 13.5 years, with up to 20 years reported by our sources.
How many young does the Indian pangolin have?
The Indian pangolin has one young per litter and one litter per year, after a gestation period of 68 days.
Who named the Indian pangolin?
The Indian pangolin was named Manis crassicaudata by É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1803.
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). Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-pangolin
“Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-pangolin.
@misc{indian_pangolin_2026,
title = {Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-pangolin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}