Body temperature and rate of O2 consumption in Chinese pangolins

Heath and Hammel (1986) measured the body temperatures of four Chinese pangolins and found their body temperatures were maintained within a range of 33-35°C.

“Heath and Hammel (1986) measured the body temperatures of four Chinese pangolins (two males and two females) and found that their body temperatures were maintained within a range of 33–35°C.”

The lack of heat-insulating fur and underdeveloped hair erector muscles hinders the prevention of heat loss and leads to fluctuations of body temperature in pangolins.

“This hinders the prevention of heat loss and leads to fluctuations of its body temperature (Heath & Hammel, 1986).”

Pangolins have poor temperature regulation due to the lack of heat-insulating fur and underdeveloped hair erector muscles.

“Pangolins have poor temperature regulation due to the lack of heat‐insulating fur and their hair erector muscles are underdeveloped (Heath & Hammel, 1986).”

The food items of Chinese and Sunda pangolins have high fractions of non-digestible chitinous exoskeleton.

“These food items have high fractions of non‐digestible chitinous exoskeleton (Heath & Hammel, 1986; Wu et al., 2005).”

The highest absolute maximum body temperature measured in this study (38.2°C) was higher than the maximum body temperatures reported previously for any pangolin species in captivity (33.9-37.8°C) and almost 3°C higher than that previously reported for a wild Temminck's pangolin (35.4°C).

“The highest (absolute maximum) body temperature (38.2°C) we measured was higher than the maximum body temperatures reported previously for any pangolin species in captivity (33.9–37.8°C, Jones, 1973; McNab, 1984; Heath and Hammel, 1986; Heath, 1987; Boyles et al., 2019; Challender et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2021) and almost 3°C higher than that previously reported for a wild Temminck’s pangolin (35.”

An increased breathing rate was observed in Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) when air temperatures rose >32°C.

“an increased breathing rate was observed in Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) when air temperatures rose >32°C (Heath and Hammel, 1986).”

Pangolins are poorly insulated by their scale covering.

“Pangolins are poorly insulated by their scale covering (Heath and Hammel, 1986; Weber et al., 1986; Challender et al., 2020).”

The lowest body temperature recorded for a pangolin in this study (28.9°C in March 2016) was within the range of minimum body temperatures recorded previously for captive animals (~27.6-33.4°C) and similar to that recorded for a wild pangolin (29.5°C).

“The lowest body temperature recorded for a pangolin in our study (28.9°C in March 2016) was within the range of minimum body temperatures recorded previously for captive animals (~27.6–33.4°C; McNab, 1984; Heath and Hammel, 1986; Heath, 1987; Yu et al., 2021) and similar to that recorded for a wild pangolin (29.5°C; Pietersen, 2013).”