African White-bellied Pangolin Skeleton

3D Model

Underneath the beautiful scales of pangolins is a fascinating skeleton. African white-bellied pangolin (Manis tricuspis, or Phataginus tricuspis) are small-bodied species from the forests of Central and West Africa). Pangolins eat insects using an acute sense of smell and a very long tongue. They pack their long tongue into their abdomen, yes, their abdomens, using long xiphoid processes that extend from their sternum.

This animal (Chicago Zoological Society CZA- 7104) was provided by the Brookfield Zoo, whose veterinarians and staff have been critical to conservation efforts of these endangered species. Portions of the specimen were removed for training canine service animals prior to our use. The specimen was microCT scanned at University of Texas, and segmented with Avizo and modeled in Geomagic by undergraduate researcher Conner Verhulst. This skeletal model will serve as the foundation for upcoming models of soft tissues (tongue muscles, jaw muscles) gained from these data.