| Malayan sun bear | |
|---|---|
| |
| A female Malayan sun bear sitting in her enclosure of zoo Basel | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Helarctos |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | H. m. malayanus
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Helarctos malayanus malayanus (Raffles, 1821)
| |
The Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus) is a subspecies of sun bear, occurring in southeast Asia.[1]
The Malayan sun bear was first described by Stamford Raffles in 1821, the same person to have described the sun bear and propose its name.[2] The Malayan sun bear earned its name from its unique distribution across Malaysia.[citation needed]
Although the sun bear is the smallest species in the bear family, its subspecies, the Malayan sun bear is even smaller, with a maximum length of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and weight of 35–70 kg (77–154 lb).[2] The Malayan sun bear appears very similar to the sun bear, but is distinguishable by its golden-white chest patch, which is thinner than that of the sun bear.[3]
The Malayan sun bear can be found in mainly coastal areas in southeast Asia, but is less dispersed within it than the sun bear, with specific populations living as follows:[1]
Like the sun bear, the Malayan sun bear lives within rainforests (both evergreen and deciduous) of diverse altitudes, ranging from coastal, lowland areas to mountainous regions of above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[2]
Unlike the sun bear, the Malayan sun bear is primarily nocturnal, although it is also active in the daytime.[3] However, equally to the sun bear, they do not hibernate like other bears due to their warm, tropical environment, which provides nutrients all year round.[3]
Similarly to the sun bear, the Malayan sun bear is omnivorous and eats fruit, honey, and nuts.[4] The meat in their diet is composed of insects such as termites, bee larvae and beetle larvae.[2] They can achieve these foods with their long tongues (which can reach 30 cm (1 ft)) and claws.[5]