The fossil record for pangolins is poor. Fragments from the Oligocene and Miocene have been linked to Manidae but these are uncertain. Other fossils indicate that a large (2.2m) species inhabited Java until approximately 50,000 years ago.
Pangolins were once grouped with sloths, anteaters and armadillos based on similarities in anatomical form. It is now thought the similarities are due to convergent evolution and that there is no close relationship to extant mammals.
The Asian pangolins are thought to be more primitive than the African species, suggesting that the Pholidota originated in Asia (Lekagul, 1988).