biology

Phataginus

Phataginus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phataginus rather than just read about it. In short: African tree pangolin (Phataginus) is a genus of African pangolins from subfamily Phatagininae, within family Manidae. Its members are the more arboreal of the African pangolins.

Key takeaways

Phataginus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phataginus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phataginus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

African tree pangolin (Phataginus) is a genus of African pangolins from subfamily Phatagininae, within family Manidae. Its members are the more arboreal of the African pangolins. From 2010 to 2019, at least 895,000 pangolins from the genus Phataginus were illegally trafficked. The animal is hunted and poached for its scales and meat, and is often used in making traditional medicine in places such as China and Vietnam. Attempts to protect these mammals from trafficking and extinction are ongoing; unfortunately their slow reproduction rate stymies population recovery. Currently the tree pangolin is listed as vulnerable. All pangolin species have been listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.

Etymology Constantine Rafinesque (1821) formed the Neo-Latin generic name Phataginus from the French term phatagin, adopted by Count Buffon (1763) after the reported local name phatagin or phatagen used in the East Indies.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny Phylogenetic position of genus Phataginus within family Manidae based on Wangmo (2025.) study:

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phataginus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phataginus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phataginus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phataginus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phataginus

In research: Phataginus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phataginus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phataginus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mammal genera, Mammal stubs, Mammals of Central Africa, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phataginus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phataginus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phataginus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phataginus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phataginus in simple terms?

African tree pangolin (Phataginus) is a genus of African pangolins from subfamily Phatagininae, within family Manidae. Its members are the more arboreal of the African pangolins.

Why does Phataginus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phataginus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phataginus.