Palawan Pangolin
Manis culionensis (de Elera, 1915)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

An adult Philippine Pangolin and her pup photographed in the forests of Palawan by Gregg Yan.
Shukran888 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Philippine pangolin or Palawan pangolin (Manis culionensis), also locally known as balintong, is a pangolin species endemic to the Palawan province of the Philippines. Its habitat includes primary and secondary forests, as well as surrounding grasslands. This species is moderately common within its limited range, but is at risk due to heavy hunting because of its valued scales and meat. This species is distinguished from the closely related Sunda pangolin by its smaller body-to-tail ratio, smaller scales, and a shorter head. It is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and Critically Endangered by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).
Wikipedia contributors, Philippine pangolin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:19:57.910104+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Manis culionensis (de Elera, 1915)
- Name authority
- (de Elera, 1915)
- Common name
- Palawan Pangolin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Pholidota
- Family
- Manidae
- Genus
- Manis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPholidota Weber, 1904
- familyManidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyManinae Gray, 1821
- genusManis Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesManis culionensis (de Elera, 1915)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Manis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indian PangolinManis crassicaudata É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803 | ManidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indo-Burmese PangolinManis indoburmanica Wangmo, Ghosh, Dolker, Joshi, Sharma & Thakur, 2025 | ManidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Malayan PangolinManis javanica Desmarest, 1822 | ManidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chinese PangolinManis pentadactyla Linnaeus, 1758 | ManidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Manis culionensis (de Elera, 1895) (de Elera, 1895) | synonym |
| Pholidotus culionensis de Elera, 1915 de Elera, 1915 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=727709 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3XVJM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.