The Revenge of the Pangolins - 11th episode, a useful tail!

Roger wrote:

Upon revisiting this topic, I not only noticed that I had abandoned it, but also realized that despite being developed during the pandemic, I seemed to be happy during that period even though I wasn't very aware of it. I also realize how these wonderful creatures we call pangolins have been quite resilient to humans' excessive interest in money, and in a way, they end up being a life lesson for many of us.
To revive this topic, nothing better than presenting an extraordinary figure of a pangopup. Yes, a baby pangolin. This figure was made by AAA, it is the smallest of two versions although it is 7 inches in size. This figure conveys a sense of realism that is difficult to see through my photos. And if you find the proportions strange for a pangolin, it is important to remember that it is a juvenile at a tender age, hence the proportionally large head and a still well-defined neck.
In the hands, it was also possible to identify the species with some certainty, the relatively short head and tails are typical of a Chinese pangolin, but the most obvious evidence is the generous ear pinnae which are the most defining element of the species. Below, I leave a photo of a real pangolin cub climbing up its parent's tail.

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I obtained it through a trade, I hope to get the larger version someday. Here a comparison with the Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures African pangolin.

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I have a few more pangolins to show and I'll try to not forget.

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Lucky! Great trade!
I would also luke to have this figure and the long version

I think there are two types of AAA figures:

- Artistic modeling, by an "human artist hand"

- And figures made from real specimens... maker the negative mold, and extract the positive in rubber

I think the pangolin is the second type
What do you think?

I think you're right. I know they often seemed to do that with smaller animals, and this pup has the look.

Molds made from real animals? Really??? That is WILD, I figured the pv shells were done that way but I had no idea you could do it with anything else. That would explain the level of realism some have. I assume they would only use pre-deceased specimens and not sacrifice anything for the figure. Surely.

A much smaller but equally important update to my pangolins collection is the Starlux model. Pangolins have never received as much atention as giant anteaters and it was quite noticiable during old times.
Though, regarding unusual species, Starlux was the best!
I have to thank this figure to Alain who kindly offered it to me.
This is a hard plastic model from 1971.

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I can't tell a species, I suggested it to be a long-tailed pangolin which is an African species but it is really hard to tell for sure.
Nevertheless, it is my favorite small pangolin figure.

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The most noticiable characteristic of this figure is its curly tail. This tail has a lot of artistic license, it is tubular instead of flattened, the way it is positioned gives attractiveness to the figure but does not look natural.
The main function of the tail is to protect them from predators. The tail is almost completely armored and helps these animals to cover their soft parts when they curl into a ball. They also use them to nestle their vulnerable babies and as you can see in the picture I shared in the previous episode, they also serve as a ramp to the pangopups to climb the backs of their mothers and get a safe ride.
Arboreal pangolins have semi-prehensile tails and that's what I think the sculptor wanted to show. Thus, a species identification for this figure should be narrowed to an Arboreal species.
If it is an African species, we have the long-tailed or the white-bellied. The leaf shape of the scales looks more like the long-tailed but the ventral part is not dark as it was supposed to be.

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Here a comparison picture with one of the Hong Kong models which also have a somewhat curly tail.

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Thanks Alain, Jill, Annette, Magofu and Steve for your warm words about my pangopup.
Steve, I'm looking forward to read your facts about pangolins. The piece of woods is not natural but it is almost impossible to tell. It is part of the set of the Edage copies of Chinese pangolins.

I'm not sure the pangopup is cast from a real animal. I am tempted to believe the sculptor was a very talented one and he used taxidermy as reference, from Natural Museums or so. Though, some details on this figure are very impressive like what I think to be the cloacal area, the ear pinae or the tiny special scales next to the claws.

Nice to watch some new posts on this venerable topic. When you opened it I was fighting against covid in my hospital and finaly fighting against my own Covid, so I missed this thread. You know that as you I like very much these pinecones.
The Starlux species is impossible to determine just as all the pangolin toys before 1990, it has an odd tail but a lot of charm. Well, it's true that I'm a bit subjective with a toy I first got about 53 years ago

the Starlux is a very nice model! That was nice of Alain to release this pangolin:)

A little treasure

Thanks Christophe, Annette and Andreas!

Kikimalou wrote:

Nice to watch some new posts on this venerable topic. When you opened it I was fighting against covid in my hospital and finaly fighting against my own Covid, so I missed this thread. You know that as you I like very much these pinecones.
The Starlux species is impossible to determine just as all the pangolin toys before 1990, it has an odd tail but a lot of charm. Well, it's true that I'm a bit subjective with a toy I first got about 53 years ago  

I was writing a post about resilience and confinement while you were struggling fiercely at the limits of your strength to protect others and then to survive the pandemic yourself. I don't even know how to describe this kind of parallelism, but seeing you commenting here, with renewed strength, is certainly the best message of resilience anyone can leave. I'm glad you were strong and that this kind of "extra life" brings you all the happiness you deserve.