tapir

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Pangolin
From Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia
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For theUbunturelease,see Precise Pangolin.
"Pholidota"and "Manis"redirecthere. Forthe orchid,see Pholidota (orchid).Forotherusesof "Manis",
see Manis(disambiguation).
The pangolin (also referred to as a scaly anteater or trenggiling) is a mammal of the order
Pholidota. The one extant family, Manidae, has three genera, Manis which comprises four
species living in Asia, Phataginus which comprises two species living in Africa, and Smutsia
which comprises two species also living in Africa.[2]
These species range in size from 30 to 100
cm (12 to 39 in). A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. The name Pangolin
comes from the Malay word "pengguling", meaning "something that rolls up". It is found
naturally in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia.
Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin. The pangolin is the only
known mammal with this adaptation. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the
species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites which they
capture using their long, specially adapted tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting
only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring which are raised for about two years.
Pangolins are threatened by hunting (for their meat and armor) and heavy deforestation of their
natural habitats. They are the most trafficked mammal in the world.[3]
All eight pangolin species
are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Description[edit]
The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping plate-like
scales. The scales, which are soft on newborn pangolins but harden as the animal matures, are
made of keratin, the same material of which human fingernails and tetrapod claws are made. The
pangolin's scaled body is comparable to a pine cone or globe artichoke. It can curl up into a ball
when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armour and its face tucked under its tail.
The scales are sharp, providing extra defense. The front claws are so long they are unsuited for
walking, so the animal walks with its fore paws curled over to protect them.

5. Pangolins can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from glands near the anus, similar to the spray
of a skunk.[4]
They have short legs, with sharp claws which they use for burrowing into termite
and ant mounds, as well as climbing.[5]
The size of pangolins varies by species, ranging from 30 to 100 centimetres (12 to 39 in).
Females are generally smaller than males.
The tongues of pangolins are extremely elongated and extend into the abdominal cavity. By
convergent evolution[citation needed]
, pangolins, the giant anteater, and the tube-lipped nectar bat all
have tongues that are not attached to their hyoid bone and extend past their pharynx deep into the
thorax.[6]
This extension lies between the sternum and the trachea. Large pangolins can extend
their tongues as much as 40 centimetres (16 in), with a diameter of only 0.5 centimetres (0.20
in).[7]
Behavior[edit]
Most pangolins are nocturnal animals that use their well-developed sense of smell to find insects.
The long-tailed pangolin is also active by day, while other species of pangolins spend most of the
daytime sleeping, curled up into a ball.[7]
Arboreal pangolins live in hollow trees, whereas the ground dwelling species dig tunnels
underground, to a depth of 3.5 metres (11 ft).[7]
Pangolins are also good swimmers.[7]
Diet[edit]
Indianpangolin defendingitselfagainst Asiaticlions
Pangolins are insectivorous. The bulk of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites
and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae. They are somewhat particular and
tend to consume only one or two species of insects, even when many species are available to
them. A pangolin will consume an average of 140 to 200 g (4.9 to 7.1 oz) of insects per day.[8]
Pangolins have a very poor sense of vision, and therefore rely heavily on smell and hearing.
After locating their prey, they tear open the anthills or termite mounds with their powerful front
claws. Their front claws are so large that their anterior feet are not useful for walking. The
animal uses its long tail to counterbalance its torso as it walks on its two hind legs. After tearing
open the ant or termite mound, it uses its long tongue to probe inside the insect tunnels and
retrieve its prey. They have glands in their chests to lubricate the tongue with sticky, ant-catching
saliva. The tongue extends all the way into a cavity of the abdomen and is longer than the

6. pangolin's entire body length. Pangolins lack teeth and, therefore, the ability to chew, however,
they ingest small stones while foraging, which accumulate in the muscular stomach and help to
grind up ants.
Some species, such as the tree pangolin, use their strong, prehensile tails to hang from tree
branches and strip away bark from the trunk, exposing insect nests inside.
Reproduction[edit]
Pangolins are solitary and meet only to mate. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 50%
more. While there is no defined mating season, they typically mate once each year, usually
during the summer or autumn months. Rather than the males seeking out the females, males
mark their location with urine or feces and the females will find them. If there is competition
over a female, the males will use their tails as clubs to fight for the opportunity to mate with
her.[9]
Gestation lasts for approximately 120–150 days. African pangolin females usually give birth to a
single offspring at a time, but the Asiatic species may give birth from one to three.[7]
Weight at
birth is 80 to 450 g (2.8 to 15.9 oz) and the average length is 150 millimetres (5.9 in). At the time
of birth, the scales are soft and white. After several days, they harden and darken to resemble
those of an adult pangolin. During the vulnerable stage, the mother stays with her offspring in the
burrow, nursing it, and will wrap her body around it if she senses danger. The young cling to the
mother's tail as she moves about, although in burrowing species, they remain in the burrow for
the first two to four weeks of life. At one month, they first leave the burrow riding on the
mother's back. Weaning takes place at approximately three months of age, at which stage the
young begin to eat insects in addition to nursing. At two years of age, the offspring are sexually
mature and are abandoned by the mother.[10]
Threats[edit]
A coat of armor made of pangolinscales,anunusual object,waspresentedto George III in1820
Pangolins are hunted and eaten in many parts of Africa and are one of the more popular types of
bush meat. They are also in great demand in China and Vietnam because their meat is considered

7. a delicacy and some believe pangolin scales have medicinal qualities.[11][12]
This, coupled with
deforestation, has led to a large decrease in the numbers of giant pangolins. In November 2010,
pangolins were added to the Zoological Society of London's list of genetically distinct and
endangered mammals.[13]
All eight species of pangolin are classified by the IUCN as threatened
to extinction, while two are classified as critically endangered.[12][14]
Though pangolin are protected by an international ban on their trade, populations have suffered
from illegal trafficking due to unfounded beliefs in Asia that their ground-up scales can stimulate
lactation or cure cancer or asthma.[15]
In the past decade there have been numerous seizures of
illegally trafficked pangolin and pangolin meat in Asia.[16][17][18][19]
In one such incident during
2013, 10,000 kilograms of pangolin meat was seized from a Chinese vessel that ran aground in
the Philippines.[20][21]
Conservation[edit]
As a result of increasing threats to pangolins, mainly in the form of illegal, international trade in
pangolin skin, scales, and meat, these species have received increasing conservation attention in
recent years. For example, in 2014, the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of
Nature) re-categorised all eight species of pangolin on its Red List of Threatened Species
(www.iucnredlist.org), and each species is now threatened with extinction. Also, the IUCN SSC
Pangolin Specialist Group (www.pangolinsg.org) launched a global action plan to conserve
pangolins, dubbed 'Scaling up Pangolin Conservation' in July 2014.
Taxonomy[edit]
Tree pangolin
Chinese pangolin

8. Pangolins were formerly classified with various other orders, for example Xenarthra, which
includes the ordinary anteaters, sloths, and the similar-looking armadillos. Newer genetic
evidence, however, indicates their closest living relatives are the Carnivora with which they form
the clade Ferae.[22][23]
Some palaeontologists placed Ernanodonta in a separate suborder of
Cimolesta near Pholidota,[24]
have classified the pangolins in the order Cimolesta, together with
several extinct groups indicated (†) below, though this idea has fallen out of favor since
cimolestids have been determined to have not been placental mammals.[25]
Until recently, all species of pangolin had been attributed to the genus Manis. Recent research
has supported the splitting of pangolins into three genera: Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia.[2]
Tapir
From Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia
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A tapir (/ˈteɪpər/ TAY-pər or /təˈpɪər/ tə-PEER) is a large herbivorous mammal, similar in shape
to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South
America, Central America, and Southeastern Asia. The five extant species of tapirs are the
Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, the Baird's tapir, the kabomani tapir, and the mountain tapir.
The four species that have been evaluated (the Brazilian, Malayan, Baird's and mountain tapir)
have all been classified as endangered or vulnerable. Their closest relatives are the other odd-
toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses.
Species[edit]
Five extant species within one extant genus are widely recognized. Four are in Central and South
America whilst the fifth is in Asia.[1]
(Some authors describe more, and a number are extinct):
 Baird'stapir, Tapirusbairdii
 Braziliantapir(alsocalledthe SouthAmericanorlowlandtapir), Tapirusterrestris
 Kabomani tapir,Tapiruskabomani[1]
 Malayan tapir, Tapirusindicus
 Mountaintapir,Tapiruspinchaque
 Tapiruscalifornicus †
 Tapiruscopei †
 Tapirusmerriami †
 Tapiruspolkensis †
 Tapirusveroensis †

9. Hybrids[edit]
Hybrids of the Baird's and the Brazilian tapirs were bred at the San Francisco Zoo around 1969
and later produced a backcross second generation.[2]
Baird'stapir
General appearance[edit]
Playmedia
(video) A tapirat Ueno Zoo.
Size varies between types, but most tapirs are about 2 m (6.6 ft) long, stand about 1 m (3 ft) high
at the shoulder, and weigh between 150 and 300 kg (330 and 700 lb). Their coats are short and
range in color from reddish-brown to grey to nearly black, with the notable exceptions of the
Malayan tapir, which has a white, saddle-shaped marking on its back, and the mountain tapir,
which has longer, woolly fur. All tapirs have oval, white-tipped ears, rounded, protruding rumps
with stubby tails, and splayed, hooved toes, with four toes on the front feet and three on the hind
feet, which help them to walk on muddy and soft ground. Baby tapirs of all types have striped-
and-spotted coats for camouflage. Females have a single pair of mammary glands,[3]
and males
have long penises relative to their body size.[4][5][6][7][8]

10. Physical characteristics[edit]
Tapir showingthe flehmenresponse
The proboscis of the tapir is a highly flexible organ, able to move in all directions, allowing the
animals to grab foliage that would otherwise be out of reach. Tapirs often exhibit the flehmen
response, a posture in which they raise their snouts and show their teeth to detect scents. This
response is frequently exhibited by bulls sniffing for signs of other males or females in oestrus in
the area. The length of the proboscis varies among species; Malayan tapirs have the longest
snouts and Brazilian tapirs have the shortest.[9]
The evolution of tapir probosces, made up almost
entirely of soft tissues rather than bony internal structures, gives the Tapiridae skull a unique
form in comparison to other perissodactyls, with a larger sagittal crest, orbits positioned more
rostrally, a posteriorly telescoped cranium, and a more elongated and retracted nasoincisive
incisure.[10][11]

Malayan tapir skull

Baird's tapir skull

Brazilian tapir skull

11. 
Mountain tapir skull
Tapirs have brachyodont, or low-crowned, teeth that lack cementum. Their dental formula is
Dentition
3.1.4.3
3.1.3-4.3
totalling 42 to 44 teeth; this dentition is closer to that of equids, which may differ by one less
canine, than their other perissodactyl relatives, rhinoceroses.[12][13]
Their incisors are chisel-
shaped, with the third large, conical upper incisor separated by a short gap from the considerably
smaller canine. A much longer gap is found between the canines and premolars, the first of
which may be absent.[14]
Tapirs are lophodonts, and their cheek teeth have distinct lophs (ridges)
between protocones, paracones, metacones and hypocones.[15][16]
Tapirs have brown eyes, often with a bluish cast to them, which has been identified as corneal
cloudiness, a condition most commonly found in Malayan tapirs. The exact etiology is unknown,
but the cloudiness may be caused by excessive exposure to light or by trauma.[17][18]
However, the
tapir's sensitive ears and strong sense of smell help to compensate for deficiencies in vision.
Tapirs have simple stomachs and are hindgut fermenters that ferment digested food in a large
cecum.[19]
Lifecycle[edit]
Young tapirs reach sexual maturity between three and five years of age, with females maturing
earlier than males.[20]
Under good conditions, a healthy female tapir can reproduce every two
years; a single young, called a calf, is born after a gestation of about 13 months.[21]
The natural
lifespan of a tapir is about 25 to 30 years, both in the wild and in zoos.[22]
Apart from mothers and
their young offspring, tapirs lead almost exclusively solitary lives.

12. Behavior[edit]
The undersidesof the front(left,withfourtoes) andback(right,withthree toes) feetof a Malayantapir
at rest
Although they frequently live in dryland forests, tapirs with access to rivers spend a good deal of
time in and under the water, feeding on soft vegetation, taking refuge from predators, and
cooling off during hot periods. Tapirs near a water source will swim, sink to the bottom, and
walk along the riverbed to feed, and have been known to submerge themselves under water to
allow small fish to pick parasites off their bulky bodies.[23]
Along with freshwater lounging, tapirs
often wallow in mud pits, which also help to keep them cool and free of insects.
In the wild, the tapir's diet consists of fruit, berries, and leaves, particularly young, tender
growth. Tapirs will spend many of their waking hours foraging along well-worn trails, snouts to
the ground in search of food. Baird's tapirs have been observed to eat around 40 kg (85 lb) of
vegetation in one day.[24]
Tapirs are largely nocturnal and crepuscular, although the smaller mountain tapir of the Andes is
generally more active during the day than its congeners. They have monocular vision.
Copulation may occur in or out of water, and in captivity, mating pairs will often copulate
multiple times during oestrus.[25][26]
Intromission lasts between 10 and 20 minutes.[27]
AdultMalayantapir

13. Tooth fromthe extinct Tapirusveroensis,2.5cm wide,about1 millionyearsold,alluvial deposits,
Florida,USA
A babyBraziliantapirwithspotsandstripescharacteristicof all juvenile tapirs
An adultMalayantapir sitting
Habitat, predation, and vulnerability[edit]
Adult tapirs are large enough to have few natural predators, and the thick skin on the backs of
their necks helps to protect them from threats such as jaguars, crocodiles, anacondas, and tigers.
The creatures are also able to run fairly quickly, considering their size and cumbersome

14. appearance, finding shelter in the thick undergrowth of the forest or in water. Hunting for meat
and hides has substantially reduced their numbers and, more recently, habitat loss has resulted in
the conservation watch-listing of all four species: both the Brazilian tapir and the Malayan tapir
are classified as vulnerable; and the Baird's tapir and the mountain tapir are endangered.
Evolution and natural history[edit]
The first tapirids, such as Heptodon, appeared in the early Eocene of North America.[28]
They
appeared very similar to modern forms, but were about half the size, and lacked the proboscis.
The first true tapirs appeared in the Oligocene. By the Miocene, such genera as Miotapirus were
almost indistinguishable from the extant species. Asian and American tapirs were believed to
have diverged around 20 to 30 million years ago; tapirs later migrated from North America to
South America around 3 million years ago, as part of the Great American Interchange.[29]
For
much of their history, tapirs were spread across the Northern Hemisphere, where they became
extinct as recently as 10,000 years ago.[30]
T. merriami, T. veroensis, T. copei, and T. californicus
became extinct during the Pleistocene in North America. The giant tapir Megatapirus survived
until about 4,000 years ago in China.
Approximate divergence times based on a 2013 analysis of mtDNA sequences are 0.5 Ma for T.
kabomani and the T. terrestris–T. pinchaque clade, 5 Ma for T. bairdii and the three South
American tapirs and 9 Ma for the T. indicus branching.[31]
T. pinchaque arises from within a
paraphyletic complex of T. terrestris populations.[31]
Tapirus T. terrestris (Brazilian tapir, Ecuador cluster)
T. pinchaque (mountain tapir)
T. terrestris (Brazilian tapir, other clusters)
T. kabomani (kabomani tapir)
T. bairdii (Baird's tapir)
T. indicus (Malayan tapir)
The tapir may have evolved from the paleothere Hyracotherium (once thought to be a primitive
horse).[32]
Genetics[edit]
The species of tapir have the following chromosomal numbers:
Malayan tapir, T. indicus 2n = 52
Mountain tapir, T. pinchaque 2n = 76
Baird's tapir, T. bairdii 2n = 80
Brazilian tapir, T. terrestris 2n = 80

15. The Malayan tapir, the species most isolated geographically from the rest of the genus, has a
significantly smaller number of chromosomes and has been found to share fewer homologies
with the three types of American tapirs. A number of conserved autosomes (13 between
karyotypes of the Baird's tapir and Brazilian tapir, and 15 between the Baird's and mountain
tapir) have also been found in the American species that are not found in the Asian animal.
However, geographic proximity is not an absolute predictor of genetic similarity; for instance, G-
banded preparations have revealed Malayan, Baird's and Brazilian tapirs have identical X
chromosomes, while mountain tapirs are separated by a heterochromatic addition/deletion.[33]
Lack of genetic diversity in tapir populations has become a major source of concern for
conservationists. Habitat loss has isolated already small populations of wild tapirs, putting each
group in greater danger of dying out completely. Even in zoos, genetic diversity is limited; all
captive mountain tapirs, for example, are descended from only two founder individuals.[34]
Conservation[edit]
A number of conservation projects have been started around the world. The Tapir Specialist
Group, a unit of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, strives to conserve biological diversity
by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to study, save, restore, and manage
the four species of tapir and their remaining habitats in Central and South America and Southeast
Asia.[35]
The Baird's Tapir Project of Costa Rica is the longest ongoing tapir project in the world, having
started in 1994. It involves placing radio collars on tapirs in Costa Rica's Corcovado National
Park to study their social systems and habitat preferences.[36]
Attacks on humans[edit]
A mountaintapir,the wooliestandmostthreatenedspeciesof tapir
Tapirs are generally shy, but when scared, they can defend themselves with their very powerful
jaws. In 1998, a zookeeper in Oklahoma City was mauled and had an arm severed after opening
the door to a female tapir's enclosure to push food inside. (The tapir's two-month-old baby also
occupied the cage at the time.)[37]
In 2006, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Echandi (who was then the
Costa Rican Environmental Minister) became lost in the Corcovado National Park and was
found by a search party with a "nasty bite" from a wild tapir.[38]
In 2013, a two-year-old girl
suffered stomach and arm injuries after being mauled by a Brazilian tapir in Dublin Zoo during a
supervised experience in the tapir enclosure. Dublin Zoo plead guilty to breaching health and

16. safety regulations and were ordered to pay €5,000 to charity.[39]
However, such examples are rare;
for the most part, tapirs are likely to avoid confrontation in favour of running from predators,
hiding, or, if possible, submerging themselves in nearby water until a threat is gone.[40]
Frank Buck wrote about an attack by a tapir in 1926, which he described in his book, Bring 'Em
Back Alive.[41]
Cultural references[edit]
Lowlandtapirearthenware from Suriname,made before1914
In Chinese, Korean and Japanese, the tapir is named after a beast from Chinese mythology,
known in Japanese mythology as the Baku (獏 or 貘?
). A feature of this mythical creature is a
snout like that of an elephant. In Chinese and Japanese folklore, tapirs, like their chimerical
counterpart, are thought to eat people's nightmares. In Chinese, the name of this beast,
subsequently the name of the tapir, is mò in Mandarin (貘) and mahk in Cantonese (貘). The
Korean equivalent is maek (Hangul: 맥, Hanja: 貘 [출처] 테이퍼 [貘, tapir ] ), while it is called
baku (バク) in Japanese.
In the prehistoric sequences of the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, tapirs appear
alongside primitive hominids in Africa. There is no evidence indicating tapirs ever existed in
Africa, so it is likely they were added simply for their "prehistoric" appearance.[42]
Also known as the "Mormon horse" due to theories claiming that it was referred to as a horse in
the Book of Mormon.[43]