Manis palaeojavanica

Giant asian pangolin (Manis palaeojavanica ["ancient Javan pangolin"]), is an extinct species of pangolin (from genus Manis) that was native to Asia.^[5]

Manis palaeojavanica Temporal range: 0.8–0.03 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ late Pleistocene
bones of Manis palaeojavanica (darker) compared to same bones of Manis javanica (lighter)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Pholidota
Family:	Manidae
Genus:	Manis
Subgenus:	Paramanis
Species:	†M. palaeojavanica
Binomial name
†Manis palaeojavanica Dubois, 1907[1]
Synonyms
list of synonyms: Manis palaejavanica (Dubois, 1908)[2] Manis palaejavanico (Weber, 1928)[3] Manis palaeojavanicus (Dubois, 1907) Manis paleojavanica (Raven, 1935)[4]

In 1926, E. Dubois described the bones of M. palaeojavanica discovered in Java. Later, Lord Medway excavated another set of bones at the Niah Caves in Malaysia. In 1960, D. A. Hoojier identified these bones as that of an extinct species. Using carbon dating, the Niah Caves bones were determined to be 42,000–47,000 years old.^[6]

M. palaeojavanica is one of the only known fossils to be found nearly complete of the pangolin species, due to their armour-like scales that protected their bodies when they were alive.^[7] Its total length is measured up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft).^[8]