Malayan tapir
Malayan tapir | |
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Malayan tapir at Tiergarten Nürnberg in Nuremberg, Germany | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Tapiridae |
Genus: | Tapirus |
Species: | T. indicus
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Binomial name | |
Tapirus indicus | |
Subspecies[3] | |
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Malayan tapir range | |
Synonyms | |
Acrocodia indica |
The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir, oriental tapir, Indian tapir, piebald tapir, or black-and-white tapir, is the only living Tapir species outside of the Americas. It is native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the population is estimated to comprise fewer than 2,500 mature individuals.[1]
Taxonomy
The
Description
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
The Malayan tapir is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored patch that extends from its shoulders to its hindquarters. It is covered in black hair, except for the tips of its ears, which, as with other tapirs, are rimmed with white. The pattern is for
The Malayan tapir is the largest of the four extant tapir species and grows to between 1.8 and 2.5 m (5 ft 11 in and 8 ft 2 in) in length, not counting a stubby tail of only 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) in length, and stands 90 to 110 cm (2 ft 11 in to 3 ft 7 in) tall. It typically weighs between 250 and 320 kg (550 and 710 lb), although some adults can weigh up to 540 kg (1,190 lb).[9][10][11][12] The females are usually larger than the males. Like other tapir species, it has a small, stubby tail and a long, flexible proboscis. It has four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. The Malayan tapir has rather poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and sense of smell.
It has a large sagittal crest, a bone running along the middle of the skull that is necessary for muscle attachment. It also possesses unusually positioned orbits, an unusually shaped cranium with the frontal bones elevated, and a retracted nasal incision. These adaptations evolved to support the proboscis. This proboscis caused a retraction of bones and cartilage in the face during the evolution of the tapir, and even caused the loss of some cartilages, facial muscles, and the bony wall of the nasal chamber.
Vision
Malayan tapirs have very poor eyesight, instead relying on excellent senses of smell and hearing. The eyes are small with brown irises, positioned on the sides of the face. Their eyes are often covered in a blue haze, which is corneal cloudiness thought to be caused by repetitive exposure to light. Corneal cloudiness is a condition in which the cornea starts to lose its transparency. The cornea is necessary for the transmitting and focusing of outside light as it enters the eye, and cloudiness can cause vision loss. This causes the Malayan tapir to have very inadequate vision, both on land and in water, where they spend the majority of their time. Also, as these tapirs are most active at night and since they have poor eyesight, it is harder for them to search for food and avoid predators in the dark.[13][14]
Colour variation
Two melanistic Malayan tapirs were observed in Jerangau Forest Reserve in Malaysia in 2000.[15] A black Malayan tapir was also recorded in Tekai Tembeling Forest Reserve in Pahang state in 2016.[16]
Distribution and habitat
The Malayan tapir is distributed throughout the tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, including Sumatra in Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Populations in Sabah in Borneo may have persisted until recently but are now considered extinct.[17]
Behaviour and ecology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
Malayan tapirs are primarily solitary, marking out large tracts of land as their
Lifecycle
The gestation period of the Malayan tapir is about 390–395 days, after which a single calf is born that weighs around 6.8 kg (15 lb). Malayan tapirs are the largest of the four tapir species at birth and in general grow more quickly than their relatives.[19] Young tapirs of all species have brown hair with white stripes and spots, a pattern that enables them to hide effectively in the dappled light of the forest. This baby coat fades into adult coloration between four and seven months after birth. Weaning occurs between six and eight months of age, at which time the babies are nearly full-grown, and the animals reach sexual maturity around age three. Breeding typically occurs in April, May or June, and females generally produce one calf every two years. Malayan tapirs can live up to 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity.[citation needed]
Predators
Because of its size, the Malayan tapir has few natural predators, and even reports of killings by tigers (Panthera tigris),[20] leopards (Panthera pardus), or dholes (Cuon alpinus) are scarce.
Threats
The main threat to the Malayan tapir is loss and
References
- ^ a b c d Traeholt, C.; Novarino, W.; bin Saaban, S.; Shwe, N.M.; Lynam, A.; Zainuddin, Z.; Simpson, B. & bin Mohd, S. (2016). "Tapirus indicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T21472A45173636. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b Desmarest, A.G. (1819). "Tapir l'inde, Tapirus indicus". Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine. Vol. 32. Paris: Deterville. p. 458.
- OCLC 62265494.
- .
- ^ Rovie-Ryan, J.J.; Traeholt, C.; Marilyn, J.E.; Zainuddin, Z.Z.; Mohd Sharif, K.; Elagupillay, S.; Mohd Farouk, M.Y.; Abdullah, A.A. & Cornelia, C.S. (2008). "Sequence variation in Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) inferred using partial sequences of the cytochrome b segment of the mitochondrial DNA". Journal of Wildlife and Parks. 25: 16–18.
- ISBN 9781421400938.
- .
- ^ "Woodland Park Zoo Animal Fact Sheet: Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus)". Archived from the original on September 24, 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-7894-7764-4
- ^ Tapirus indicus, Animal Diversity Web
- ^ Asian Tapir Archived 2014-12-21 at the Wayback Machine,|Arkive
- ^ "Malayan tapir". www.ultimateungulate.com.
- . Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ "Tapirus terrestris (lowland tapir)". Digimorph. 2002-02-08. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ Mohd, Azlan J. (2002). "Recent observations of melanistic Tapirs in Peninsular Malaysia" (PDF). Tapir Conservation. 11 (1): 27–28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-06-15.
- ^ Asrulsani, J.; Amri, I.; Rafhan, H.; Samsuddin, S.; Saharudin, M.H.; Seman, M.F.; Syafiq, M.; Nasri, M.F. & Patah, P.A. (2017). "Discovery of melanistic Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus var. brevetianus) in Tekai Tembeling Forest Reserve" (PDF). Journal of Wildlife and Parks. 32: 79–83.
- doi:10.1002/oa.1015.
- IUCN Tapir Specialist Group. p. 1. Archived from the originalon 2 December 1998.
- ^ Fahey, B. 1999. "Tapirus indicus" (Online), Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved June 16, 2006.
- IUCN Tapir Specialist Group. p. 2. Archived from the originalon 29 January 1999.
- ^ Magintan, David; Traeholt, Carl & Karuppannan, Kayal V. (2012). "Displacement of the Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) in Peninsular Malaysia from 2006 to 2010". Tapir Conservation. 21 (29): 13–17.
External links
- Media related to Tapirus indicus at Wikimedia Commons
- ARKive – images and movies of the Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus)
- Tapir Specialist Group – Malayan Tapir