Pangolin

Original Animal Characteristics

Description: The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping, plate-like scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins, but harden as the animal matures. They are made of keratin, the same material from which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made, and are structurally and compositionally very different from the scales of reptiles. The pangolin’s scaled body is comparable in appearance to a pine cone. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armor, while it protects its face by tucking it under its tail. The scales are sharp, providing extra defense from predators. Despite their appearance, they are not closely related to armadillos, having both evolved scales by convergent evolution.

Pangolins can emit a noxious-smelling chemical from glands near the anus, similar to the spray of a skunk. They have short legs, with sharp claws which they use for burrowing into ant and termite mounds and for climbing.

The tongues of pangolins are extremely long, and like those of the giant anteater and the tube-lipped nectar bat, the root of the tongue is not attached to the hyoid bone but is in the thorax between the sternum and the trachea. Large pangolins can extend their tongues as much as 40 cm (16 in), with a diameter of only about 0.5 cm (1⁄5 in).

Size Level: 6
Length: up to 5 feet (approximately 2 feet of tail)
Weight: up to 60 pounds
Build: Medium

Mutant Changes and Costs

Total Bio-E: 45
Attribute Bonuses: PS +2, PP + 1, PE + 2

Human Features

Hands: 5 Bio-E for Partial, 10 Bio-E for Full.
Biped: Automatic Partial, 5 Bio-E for Full.
Speech: 5 Bio-E for Partial, 10 Bio-E for Full.
Looks: None, large plate-like scales, tiny eyes, no external ears, snout, very long sticky tongue, and long tail
    5 Bio-E for Partial, small plate-like scales, small eyes, nearly flat ears, snout-like face, long sticky tongue, and small tail
    10 Bio-E for Full, bald, tiny plate-like scales (larger if the mutant has natural armor), minimal ears, and sticky tongue

Natural Weapons

• 5 Bio-E for 1D6 Claws (Climbing)
• 5 Bio-E for 1D6 Claws (Digging)
• 10 Bio-E for 1D10 Claws (Digging)
• 5 Bio-E for Scale Defense; the edges of the pangolin’s plate-like scales are sharp and any unarmed attack that rolls less than the mutant’s Armor Rating causes 1D10 damage to the attacker. Without natural armor the Scale Defense has an A.R. of 8, but does not prevent damage (it is NOT armor). Unlink similar animal defenses, pangolin scales are not well positioned for physical attacks and deal no extra damage.

Animal Abilities

• 5 Bio-E for Advanced Smell
• 5 Bio-E for Advanced Touch
• 5 Bio-E for Digging
• 10 Bio-E for Tunneling
• 5 Bio-E for light Natural Armor: A.R.: 10 and S.D.C.: +20
  10 Bio-E for medium Natural Armor: A.R.: 12 and S.D.C.: +40
  15 Bio-E for heavy Natural Armor: A.R.: 14 and S.D.C.: +60
• 15 Bio-E for Prehensil Tail: extra limb used as a partial hand