Tapir

Tapir
Temporal range: Early Oligocene[1] – Recent
Tapir species, from top left clockwise: South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) and Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Clade: Tapiromorpha
Suborder: Ceratomorpha
Superfamily: Tapiroidea
Family:
Gray, 1821[2][3]
Type genus
Tapirus
Brisson, 1762
Genera[7]
About 15
  • †Eotapirus Cerdeno & Ginsburg, 1988
  • †Hesperaletes Colbert, 2006
  • †Heteraletes Peterson, 1932
  • †Miotapirus Schlaikjer, 1937
  • †Nexuotapirus Albright, 1998
  • †Palaeotapirus Filhol, 1888
  • †Paratapirus Depéret, 1902
  • †Plesiocolopirus Schoch, 1989
  • †Plesiotapirus Qiu, Yan & Sun, 1991
  • †Protapirus Filhol, 1877 (=†Tanyops Marsh, 1894[1])
  • †Selenolophodon Chang & Zhai, 1978
  • †Tapiravus Marsh, 1877
  • †Tapiriscus Kretzoi, 1951
  • †Teleolophus Matthew & Granger, 1925 (=†Pachylophus Tong & Lei, 1984[4])
  • Tapirus Brisson, 1762
  • Tapirella Palmer, 1903 (currently a synonym[5] or subgenus[6] of Tapirus)
  • Acrocodia Goldman, 1913 (currently a synonym[5] or subgenus[6] of Tapirus)
  • †Megatapirus Matthew & Granger, 1923 (currently a subgenus of Tapirus[6])
  Distribution of extant species
Synonyms[3]
  • Elasmognathinae Gray, 1867

Tapirs (/ˈteɪpər/ TAY-pər)[8][9] are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae.[3] They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America and Southeast Asia. They are one of three extant branches of Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), alongside equines and rhinoceroses. Only a single genus, Tapirus, is currently extant. Tapirs migrated into South America during the Pleistocene epoch from North America after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama as part of the Great American Interchange.[10] Tapirs were formerly present across North America, but became extinct in the region at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FW1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gray, 1821 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference MSW1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FW2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MSW2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Hulbert, 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference GBIF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Definition of tapir". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  9. ^ "Collins Dictionary". Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  10. ^ Holanda, Elizete Celestino; Ferrero, Brenda Soledad (March 2013). "Reappraisal of the Genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 20 (1): 33–44. doi:10.1007/s10914-012-9196-z. hdl:11336/18792. S2CID 15780542.
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