KUNMINGChinese researchers have discovered a new species of pangolin based on genomic data collected from scales of this animal. The new species was named Manis mysteria, or mysterious Asian pangolin.
It should be noted that more than 100 years have passed since researchers last discovered a species of pangolin, which was called Filipino. Pangolins are among the most illegally traded wild mammals in the world. A total of eight species were known before the recent discovery and all of them are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, three of which have even been classified as “critically endangered.” ».
Manis mysteria was discovered during the molecular identification of species of smuggled pangolin scales that were seized in the Yunnan and Hong Kong regions of China, when new mitochondrial haplotypes were detected, explained Yu Li, a researcher at Yunnan University, who participated. in joint research. The result of the study was recently published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ■
By: XINHUA