@incollection{fdi:010078803,
  title = {{E}volution and morphology},
  author = {{G}audin, {T}.{J}. and {G}aubert, {P}hilippe and {B}illet, {G}. and {H}autier, {L}. and {F}erreira-{C}ardoso, {S}. and {W}ible, {J}.{R}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{P}angolins'evolutionary history is poorly known, with historically uncertain relationships to other placental mammals, and weak representation in the fossil record. {T}heir closest relatives are extinct {P}alaeanodonta and extant {C}arnivora. {T}he oldest fossil pangolins come from the {E}uropean {E}ocene, with early records confined to {L}aurasia, and a modern range established in the {P}lio-{P}leistocene. {E}xtant pangolins are characterized by many distinctive anatomical features, including an external armor of epidermal scales, along with traits associated with myrmecophagous, fossorial, and arboreal habits. {T}heir skull is edentulous and narrow. {T}he postcranial skeleton is marked by powerful digging claws and forelimbs, and a prehensile tail in some forms. {T}he tongue is attached to an elongated xiphisternum. {F}ood is masticated in a stomach containing horny denticles. {F}emales have axillary nipples and a bicornuate uterus; males lack a scrotum. {T}he vascular system includes several retia mirabilia, and the carnivoran-like brain has a low encephalization quotient.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {{P}angolins : science, society and conservation},
  numero = {},
  pages = {5--23},
  address = {{L}ondres},
  publisher = {{A}cademic {P}ress},
  series = {{B}iodiversity of {W}orld : {C}onservation from {G}enes to {L}andscapes},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1016/{B}978-0-12-815507-3.00001-0},
  ISBN = {978-0-12-815507-3},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078803},
}