PANGOLINS ON STAMPS OF THE WORLD

Das, Indraneil (2020) PANGOLINS ON STAMPS OF THE WORLD. Biophilately, 69 (1). pp. 7-14.

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Abstract

Pangolins (comprising eight species from tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia) are members of the mammalian order Pholidota (Gaudin, 2009; Gaubert et al., 2018), and all are listed as “threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (an international database of the world’s threatened plants and animals). Causes for their imperilment are various, and include hunting for food, and curiously, for their “scales,” an ingredient in certain Chinese traditional medicine. They also suffer from habitat loss and some are recorded as road-mortalities. Fossil records reveal that the group had a wider distribution—one was discovered from the Lower Oligocene of North America between 33.9–23 million years ago (mya), and others from the Eocene (56–33.9 mya) of China and Germany (Gaudin et al., 2006). Living pangolins are toothless and are myrmecophages, meaning their diets consist of ants and termites. Their long tongue is coated with adhesive saliva aiding in the capture of these insects. There is evidence that extinct pangolins consumed plant matter. The depictions of these animals on stamps starts in 1950, with an issue from Sarawak (now a state within Malaysia) as part of the King George VI definitive series (Sc#186). It shows a Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica). To date, as many as 52 countries and postal authorities have issued stamps featuring the pangolin. An alphabetical list includes: Bangladesh, Belgian Congo, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China (Taiwan), Congo Democratic Republic (Zaire), Congo People’s Republic, Equatorial Guinea, French West Africa, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Great Britain, Guinea (Republic), Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nevis, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, Rio Muni, Saint Thomas and Prince, Sarawak, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, United Nations (Geneva), United Nations (Vienna), Vietnam, Vietnam (North), Zambia, and Zimbabwe. An observant reader will note that not all the entities listed host natural populations of pangolins. Some issues even feature species not found within their geographical boundaries. The philatelic releases were typically to highlight the world’s threatened species. The cutoff for entries in this listing was 20 October 2019.

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