To combat wildlife-related crimes on an international scale, DNA forensics techniques have been used to identify which species have been the victim of illegal trafficking activities. Using DNA extracts from two batches of pangolin scales seized by the Hong Kong Customs, a group of scientists from the Kadoorie Farm conducted a phylogenetic analysis in 2015 to identify the species and geographic origins of the seized pangolin scales. Phylogenetic data pertaining to the Chinese pangolin, the Indian pangolin, and the Sunda pangolin were included for reference, but the findings revealed that there was a distinct clade consisting of two haplotypes (H4 and H8) that did not match the reference data. It was also proposed that both haplotypes were derived from one of the following: the Philippine pangolin; an unknown lineage of the Sunda pangolin; or, a thus far unidentified Asian pangolin species. Due to the lack of data however, the research was not pursued further at the time.

There are four extant kinds of Asian pangolins and four extant kinds of African pangolins, respectively (a brief introduction of each of the eight species can be found here).

Some five years later in October 2020, a group of scientists from Germany and China took up the study and concluded that there might in fact be a fifth Asian pangolin species. This time, two mitochondrial genes of all eight known extant pangolin species were used. The methodologies included hylogenetic tree reconstructions, divergence time estimation, and species delimitation analyses. All of the analyses conducted confirmed that these two haplotypes constitute a distinct lineage, potentially representing a fifth Asian pangolin species. This potential fifth Asian pangolin species remains undescribed in taxonomy, and is only found in illegal trade thus far.

The survival of pangolins is still on thin ice, as law enforcement seizures of pangolin scales and meat reached an all-time high in 2019. According to a report by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), over 128 tons of these pangolin products were intercepted last year worldwide. 2019 also saw the biggest individual seizures of pangolin scales on record. In April, two shipments from Nigeria totalling 28.2 ton were intercepted in Singapore, and they were estimated to be from 70,000 pangolins. It is also learned that pangolin scales have soared in price recently.

Hong Kong in fact has been a regional transport hub for illegal trade activities for pangolin products. Over 40% of the pangolin scales confiscated in Asia were bound for or intercepted in China or Hong Kong since 2015, and the quantity of scales seized from shipments in or headed to China and Hong Kong increased by more than 171% between 2015 and 2019 (see report by the National Geographic). It is the general view among experts that these numbers only represent small fraction of the massive illegal trades.

While conservation work for pangolins has to be intensified and law enforcement to combat wildlife trades still has room for improvement, some welcoming changes have in fact taken place institutionally. One such development is the removal of pangolin scales from the list of approved ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine in China in June 2020. There was also a subsequent announcement by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration that pangolins are now a national level one protected species in China, though the effect of these measures remains to be seen.

Courtesy of Louis Cheung.

Main Source: KFBG