Researchers used DNA extracted from a nearly 190-year-old pangolin specimen collected in 1836 to confirm the Himalayan pangolin, Manis aurita, as a distinct species.
The Himalayan pangolin is found in Nepal, northern India, Bhutan, and Myanmar, and differs from the Chinese pangolin by having a larger body, longer tail, and smaller ears.
Pangolins are heavily targeted by illegal poaching for their scales to be used in traditional Chinese medicine, making them the most trafficked mammals in the world.