Tapir
Tapir
Mammal
A large, pig-shaped forest mammal with a short, flexible trunk-like snout for grasping leaves and fruit, and a surprisingly close relative of horses and rhinos.
Name Story
Tapirus terrestris
means “the land tapir”
What does its name mean?
- Tapirus — the animal's own Amazonian nameTupi tapira, Latinised
- terrestris — of the landLatin
- tapir — the very same living Amazonian wordTupi, via English
The word 'tapir' is a gift from the Tupi people of the Amazon — their name for the animal, carried into science and now used all over the world. 'Of the land' marks it as a ground animal, though it is a fine swimmer too.