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Malayan tapir

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Malayan Tapir
Malayan tapir at Louisville Zoo
Scientific classification
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Binomial name
Tapirus indicus
(Desmarest, 1819)
Malayan tapir range

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir, Oriental tapir, Indian tapir, or piebald tapir, is the largest of the five species of tapir. It the only one native to Asia. This shows that the original distribution of its family was much wider, because all the other species are found in Central or South America.

The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the Malay, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", "tenuk" or "badak tampong".