The Malayan
tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian tapir, is the largest of the
five species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. The scientific name
refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the Malay language,
the tapir is commonly referred to as cipan, tenuk or badak tampun The animal is
easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored patch that
extends from its shoulders to its rear end. The rest of its hair is black,
except for the tips of its ears, which, as with other tapirs, are rimmed with
white.
This pattern is for camouflage; the disrupted coloration makes it more
difficult to recognize it as a tapir, and other animals may mistake it for a
large rock rather th Malayan tapirs grow 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 stand 90 to 110 cm (2 ft 11 in to 3 ft 7 in) tall. They
typically weigh between 250 and 320 kg (550 and 710 lb), although some adults
can weigh up to 540 kg (1,190 lb). The females are usually larger than the
males.
Like the other types of tapir, they have small, stubby tails and long,
flexible proboscises. They have 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.an prey when it is lying down to sleep. They have a
large sagittal crest, a bone running along the middle of the skull that is
necessary for muscle attachment. They also have unusually positioned orbits, an
unusually shaped cranium with the frontal bones elevated, and a retracted nasal
incision.
All of these modifications to the normal mammal skull are, of course,
to make room for 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 cartilag Malayan tapirs have very poor eyesight, making them rely
greatly on their excellent sense of smell and hearing to go about in their
everyday lives. They have small, beady eyes with brown irises on either side of
their faces. 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 when 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.es, facial muscles, and the bony wall of the nasal
chamber.
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