Somatic Chromosomes of Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla (Pholidota: Mammalia) with Special Reference to Satellite Association

Abstract

The diploid chromosome number of pangolin, Manis pentadactyla is a matter of controversy. Two renowned cytological schools reported different 2n numbers for the same species. Makino and Tateishi (1951) reported 2n=42 in a male pangolin, Manis pentadactyla collected from Japan. Ray-Chaudhuri et al. (1969) suggested 2n=36 for the same species collected from North-Eastern India. These two contradictory reports made us interested to investigate the chromosome complements of pangolin. In this report, we present a completely different 2n number for M. pentadactyla collected from two different North-East Indian states with notes on the formation of satellite association in this species. © 1982, Japan Mendel Society, International Society of Cytology. All rights reserved.