Pangolins are Mamals

Pangolins are mammals because they share the defining characteristics of mammals. Like other mammals, they are warm-blooded vertebrates, breathe air with lungs, and have hair on their bodies. Although their bodies are covered mainly by hard, overlapping scales, pangolins have small areas of hair, especially on their faces, bellies, and limbs.

Another important mammalian feature is that female pangolins produce milk to feed their young. A mother pangolin usually gives birth to a small number of babies and nurses them until they are developed enough to find food on their own. The young are born alive rather than hatching from eggs, which is another characteristic shared with most mammals.

Pangolins also have a mammalian body structure, including a backbone, a four-chambered heart, and specialized teeth-related adaptations—even though adult pangolins lack conventional teeth. Their scales can make them look very different from familiar mammals, but scales do not change their classification. Biologically, pangolins belong to the mammalian order Pholidota, making them one of the most unusual mammals on Earth.