Morphometric characterisation of white-bellied pangolins rescued from trade for conservation in Nigeria

Abstract

White-bellied pangolins ( Phataginus tricuspis ) rescued from trade in North-central and South-western Nigeria by the Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria were evaluated for morphometric characteristics in this study. Pangolins were rehabilitated and put in two age groupings defined by their total body length: Juvenile (≤75 cm) and Adult (>75 cm). Sex, rectal temperature, and Body Weight (BW) were recorded. Morphometric parameters which included; Total Body Length (TBL), Snout Length (SL), Head Length (HL), Head Body Length (HBL), Tail Length (TL), Neck Circumference (NC), Shoulder Circumference (SC), Body Circumference (BC), Forelimb Length (FLL) and Hindlimb Length (HLL) were measured. The ratio of TL to HBL was calculated. Measurements were obtained following standard procedures. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and chi square at α 0.05 . A total of 29 pangolins comprising 20 adults (68.97%) and 9 juveniles (31.03%) that included 17 males (58.62%) and 12 females (41.38%) were sampled. The rectal temperature range was 32.0–34.2 °C. The mean body weights and mean TBL for adult males, adult females, juvenile males and juvenile females were 1.93 ± 0.51 and 96.57 ± 10.13, 1.60 ± 0.15 and 90.11 ± 3.88, 0.72 ± 0.15 and 61.74 ± 7.42, 0.91 ± 0.15 and 69.8 ± 3.15, respectively. The mean TL/HBL was 1.37 ± 0.02. There was positive correlation between the age group and body weight, TBL, SL, HL, HBL, TL, NC, SC, BC, FLL and HLL while there was no association with the rectal temperature and the TL/HBL ratio. There was no association between sex and any of the measurements. The morphometric parameters increased with age while rectal temperature and TL/HBL ratio was relatively constant. The adult male pangolins attained greater weight and total body lengths than females. Sexual dimorphism in measured parameters was not established. Information provided in this study will be useful in complementing pangolin health management, research and conservation efforts.