South American Tapir Female Skull Replica measures 15.4 inches. South American Tapir Female Skull is museum quality polyurethane resin cast. Made in USA. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Known as Brazilian Tapir.

South American Tapir is one of the four recognized species in the tapir family of the order Perissodactyla. It is the largest surviving native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon.

South American Tapir is dark brown, paler in the face, and has a low, erect crest running from the crown down the back of the neck. The round, dark ears have distinctive white edges. Newborn tapirs have a dark brown coat, with small white spots and stripes along the body.

The South American Tapir can attain a body length of 5.9 to 8.2 ft. with a 2.0 to 3.9 in. short stubby tail and an average weight around 496 lb. Adult weight has been reported ranging from 330 to 710 lb. It stands between 30 and 43 in. at the shoulder.

The South American Tapir can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes.

They can be identified by its large stiff mane or crest from forehead to shoulder, which the other three species of tapirs do not have.

They are also known for being strong swimmers, with the ability to cross rivers and take to the water to escape predators.

Tapirs excrete in water when possible and there are two theories for why this might be, excreting in water reduces the animals scent trail on the land, therefore reducing the likelihood of predation, or excreting in water may reduce the attractiveness of the rear-end to biting flies.

Its geographic range stretches from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the west.

The South American Tapir is an herbivore. Using its mobile nose, it feeds on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches it tears from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants. They also feed on the vast majority of seeds found in the rainforest.

Belonging to the same family as rhinoceros, tapir are odd toed ungulates, with four toes at the front and three at the back. What sets them apart is their long nose. Tapirs have a fleshy, prehensile trunk, which can be used to grab leaves or act as a snorkel if they are swimming.

South American Tapir mates in April, May, or June, reaching sexual maturity in the third year of life. Females go through a gestation period of 13 months or 390–395 days and will typically have one offspring every two years.

A newborn Brazilian Tapir or Tapirus terrestris weighs about 15 pounds and will be weaned in about six months.

The dwindling numbers of the Maned Tapir are due to poaching for meat and hide, as well as habitat destruction.

South American Tapir is generally recognized as an endangered animal species, with the species being designated as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on June 2, 1970.

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