Tapirus
Genus of tapir
title: "Tapirus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tapirs", "mammal-genera", "taxa-named-by-mathurin-jacques-brisson", "taxa-described-in-1762"] description: "Genus of tapir" topic_path: "general/tapirs" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapirus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of tapir ::
| fossil_range = Miocene – Recent | image = South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris).JPG | image_caption = South American tapir, a type species of Tapirus | taxon = Tapirus | authority = Brisson, 1762 | type_species = Hippopotamus terrestris (=today is Tapirus terrestris) | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * T. bairdii
- T. indicus
- T. pinchaque
- T. terrestris For extinct species, see text | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = {{collapsible list |title=About 12 |titlestyle=text-align:center; font-weight:normal; |bullets=y | Acrocodia Goldman, 1913 (also as an independent genus or subgenus) | Chinchecus Trouessart, 1898 | Cinchacus Gray, 1873 | Elasmognathus Gill, 1865 | Hydrochoerus Gray, 1821 (nomen nudum) | Pinchacus Hershkovitz, 1954 (also as an subgenus of Tapirus) | Rhinochoerus Wagler, 1830 | Syspotamus Billburg, 1827 | Tapir Blumenbach, 1779 | Tapyra Liais, 1872 | Tapirella Palmer, 1903 (also as an subgenus of Tapirus) | Tapirussa Frisch, 1775}}
Tapirus is a genus of tapir which contains the living tapir species. The Malayan tapir is usually included in Tapirus as well, although some authorities have moved it into its own genus, Acrocodia.
Extant species
::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Baird's tapir (92135).jpg | 120px]] | Baird's tapir (also called the Central American tapir) | Tapirus bairdii (Gill, 1865) |
| [[File:Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) male (27546923604).jpg | 120px]] | South American tapir (also called the Brazilian tapir or lowland tapir) | Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| [[File:Tapirus pinchaque portrait.jpg | 120px]] | Mountain tapir (also called the woolly tapir) | Tapirus pinchaque (Roulin, 1829) |
| [[File:Schabrackentapir Tapirus indicus Tiergarten-Nuernberg-1.jpg | 120px]] | Malayan tapir (also called the Asian tapir, Oriental tapir or Indian tapir) | Tapirus indicus (Desmarest, 1819) |
| :: |
The Kabomani tapir was at one point recognized as another living member of the genus, but is now considered to be nested within T. terrestris.
Evolution
The genus Tapirus first appeared during the Middle Miocene (around 16-10 million years ago), known fossils in both Europe (T. telleri) and North America (T. johnsoni and T. polkensis). The youngest tapir in Europe, Tapirus arvernensis became extinct at the end of the Pliocene, around 2.6 million years ago. Tapirus dispersed into South America during the Early Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange, around 2.6-1 million years ago.
Tapirs suffered considerable extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene, and went completely extinct north of southern Mexico.
Fossil species
- †Tapirus arvernensis Croizet & Jobert, 1828
- †Tapirus augustus Matthew & Granger, 1923 - Formerly Megatapirus
- †Tapirus californicus Merriam, 1912
- †Tapirus cristatellus Winge, 1906
- †Tapirus greslebini Rusconi, 1934
- †Tapirus haysii Simpson, 1945
- †Tapirus johnsoni Schultz et al., 1975
- †Tapirus lundeliusi Hulbert, 2010
- †Tapirus merriami Frick, 1921
- †Tapirus mesopotamicus Ferrero & Noriega, 2007
- †Tapirus oliverasi Ubilla, 1983 - Invalid
- †Tapirus polkensis Olsen, 1860
- †Tapirus rioplatensis Cattoi, 1957
- †Tapirus rondoniensis Holanda et al., 2011
- †Tapirus sanyuanensis Huang & Fang, 1991
- †Tapirus simpsoni Schultz et al., 1975
- †Tapirus sinensis Owen, 1870
- †Tapirus tarijensis Ameghino, 1902
- †Tapirus veroensis Sellards, 1918
- †Tapirus webbi Hulbert, 2005
References
References
- {{MSW3 Perissodactyla
- Hulbert, Richard C.. (2010). "A new early Pleistocene tapir (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a review of Blancan tapirs from the state". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History.
- (2011). "Ungulate Taxonomy". [[Johns Hopkins University Press]].
- (2016-03-01). "Mitogenomics of the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque, Tapiridae, Perissodactyla, Mammalia) in Colombia and Ecuador: Phylogeography and insights into the origin and systematics of the South American tapirs". Mammalian Biology.
- "All About the Terrific Tapir {{!}} Tapir Specialist Group".
- (January 2023). "The Tapirus from Camp dels Ninots (NE Iberia): implications for morphology, morphometry and phylogeny of Neogene Tapiridae". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
- (December 2020). "The Villafranchian perissodactyls of Italy: knowledge of the fossil record and future research perspectives". Geobios.
- (March 2013). "Reappraisal of the Genus ''Tapirus'' (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs". Journal of Mammalian Evolution.
- (2012). "Reappraisal of the Genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs". Journal of Mammalian Evolution.
- (2012). "Tapirs from the Pleistocene of Venezuela". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- (2002). "On fossil remains of Early Pleistocene tapir (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from Fanchang, Anhui". Chinese Science Bulletin.
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