Researchers believed there were eight species of the strange mammals. But a ninth was identified genetically, although no one knew it was a separate species in the wild.

cross-posted from: https://derp.foo/post/267374

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The pangolin is an absurd animal, a mammal that’s dressed up as a reptile with a coat of scales, sharp claws and sticky saliva. Wildlife experts often say they are the most trafficked mammals in the world as poachers target pangolins for their meat and their scales, which are used in traditional medicines. There are eight species, all under various levels of threat.

Or, sorry, make that nine species. Researchers have determined that scales confiscated in Hong Kong in 2012 and 2013 and in Yunnan, China, in 2015 and 2019 belong to a previously unrecognized pangolin species that has yet to be formally described — but is hiding in plain sight. The find was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.