Wildlife forensics helps cause of pangolins

Researchers sequenced 624 pangolin scales, categorising the species

Pangolins, despite being listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 continue to be the world’s most trafficked mammal. The primary demand for its scales in the making of traditional East Asian medicines has led to an estimated illegal trade worth $2.5 billion every year. To enforce the appropriate national and international laws and to track the decline of the species, researchers of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata, have now developed tools to tell apart the scales of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). They characterised the morphological features and investigated genetic variations between the two species by sequencing 624 scales of pangolins and comparing the sequences with all eight pangolin species. Based on the size, shape, weight and ridge counts on the scales, the team was able to categorise the two species. “These simple morphological characters can be easily measured by the use of a simple Vernier caliper. These metric characters will be of immense utility for the law enforcement agencies for taking spot decision during larger seizures,” says Mukesh Thakur, lead author and the Coordinator of Wildlife Forensic Facilities at ZSI. The results were recently published in Forensic Science International.