35o 
Mammals of Eastern Asia 
the twigs and foliage of herbs and shrubs and grinding them 
with their heavily cross-ridged cheek teeth. A characteristic of 
the Tapir skull, compared with that of the Horse, is seen in the 
nasal bones, so short as to appear like small triangles. 
The living Tapirs are found in only two parts of the world — 
southeastern Asia, where Tapinis indicus becomes continually 
more scarce, and Central and South America. In most American 
species the skin appears comparatively hairless. But one species, 
Tapinis pinchaque, of the high Andes, has the coat as densely 
hairy as that of a cow. The word Tapir is derived from one of 
the Indian dialects of Brazil. 
The Malay Tapir, Tapirus indicus, is the only species show- 
ing a color pattern; the American species are uniformly slate- 
colored. The Malay Tapir, on the contrary, is colored dirty 
white over the whole of the back behind the shoulders and on the 
sides, while the head, shoulders, forelimbs, and hind limbs from 
the thighs to the toes are blackish, as are the chest and belly. 
The height at the shoulder is about 3% feet; the weight may 
Fig. 77. Malay Tapir, Tapirus indicus. 
