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::[[Sunda pangolin]], ''M. javanica''
::[[Sunda pangolin]], ''M. javanica''
::[[Tree pangolin]], ''M. tricuspis''
::[[Tree pangolin]], ''M. tricuspis''
== Pangolins and the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic ==
[[File:Pangolin.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Pangolin have large, keratin scales covering their skin. They are the only known mammals who have this feature.]]
''Nature Research'' indicates:
{{Cquote|Researchers in Guangzhou, China, have suggested that pangolins — long-snouted, ant-eating mammals often used in traditional Chinese medicine — are the probable animal source of the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 30,000 people and is wreaking havoc worldwide.
Scientists say that the suggestion, based on a genetic analysis, seems plausible — but caution that the researchers’ work is yet to be published in full. “This is an extremely interesting observation. Although we need to see more details, it does make sense as there are now some other data emerging that pangolins carry viruses that are closely related to 2019-nCoV,” says Edward Holmes, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Sydney, Australia...
Pangolins are protected animals, but illegal trafficking is widespread, and some species are critically endangered. They are sold, controversially, for their meat and scales, and for use in traditional Chinese medicine, in which parts of the animal are used to treat ailments such as skin diseases, menstrual disorders and arthritis. Chinese law states that people selling pangolins can be punished by 10 years or more in prison.<ref>[https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00364-2 Did pangolins spread the China coronavirus to people?], ''Nature Research'', 07 FEBRUARY 2020</ref>}}
[[Category:Vertebrates]]
[[Category:Vertebrates]]