Tapirus
Tapirus | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Tapiridae |
Genus: | Tapirus Brisson, 1762 |
Type species | |
Hippopotamus terrestris | |
Species | |
For extinct species, see text |
Tapirus is a genus which contains the three living American tapir species. The Malayan tapir is usually included in Tapirus as well, although some authorities have moved it into its own genus, Acrocodia.[1]
Extant species[]
!Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Tapirus bairdii (Gill, 1865) | Baird's tapir (also called the Central American tapir) | Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America | Includes Kabomani tapir (Tapirus kabomani). |
![]() |
Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) | South American tapir (also called the Brazilian tapir or lowland tapir) | Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the West. | |
![]() |
Tapirus pinchaque (Roulin, 1829) | Mountain tapir (also called the woolly tapir) | Eastern and Central Cordilleras mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, and the far north of Peru. | |
![]() |
Tapirus indicus Desmarest, 1819 | Malayan tapir (also called the Asian tapir, Oriental tapir or Indian tapir) | Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand | May be placed in Acrocodia |
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.[2][3]
Evolution[]
Tapirus first appeared in the Late Miocene in North America, with Tapirus webbi perhaps the oldest known fossil species.
Tapirus spread into South America and Eurasia during the Pliocene. It has been suggested that the tapirs that inhabited North America during the Late Pleistocene may be derived from a South American species that remigrated north, perhaps Tapirus cristatellus.[4]
Tapirs suffered large-scale extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene, and went completely extinct north of southern Mexico.
Fossil species[]
- † Croizet & Jobert, 1828
- †Tapirus augustus Matthew & Granger, 1923 - Formerly Megatapirus
- †Tapirus californicus Merriam, 1912
- †Tapirus copei Simpson, 1945
- †Tapirus cristatellus Winge, 1906
- †Tapirus greslebini Rusconi, 1934
- †Tapirus johnsoni Schultz et al., 1975
- †Tapirus lundeliusi Hulbert, 2010
- †Tapirus merriami Frick, 1921
- †Tapirus mesopotamicus Ferrero & Noriega, 2007
- †Tapirus oliverasi Ubilla, 1983 - Invalid[4][5]
- †Tapirus polkensis Olsen, 1860
- †Tapirus rioplatensis Cattoi, 1957
- †Tapirus rondoniensis Holanda et al., 2011
- † Huang & Fang, 1991[6]
- †Tapirus simpsoni Schultz et al., 1975
- † Owen, 1870[6]
- †Tapirus tarijensis Ameghino, 1902
- †Tapirus veroensis Sellards, 1918
- †Tapirus webbi Hulbert, 2005
References[]
- ^ Groves, C.; Grubb, P (2011). Ungulate taxonomy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 18.
- ^ Ruiz-García, Manuel; Castellanos, Armando; Bernal, Luz Agueda; Pinedo-Castro, Myreya; Kaston, Franz; Shostell, Joseph M. (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. 81 (2): 163–175. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2015.11.001. ISSN 1616-5047.
- ^ "All About the Terrific Tapir | Tapir Specialist Group". Tapir Specialist Group. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- ^ a b Holanda, E.C.; Ferrero, B.S. (2012). "Reappraisal of the Genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 20: 33–44. doi:10.1007/s10914-012-9196-z.
- ^ Holanda, E.C.; Rincón, A.D. (2012). "Tapirs from the Pleistocene of Venezuela". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 463–473. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0001.
- ^ a b Tong, H. (2002). "On fossil remains of Early Pleistocene tapir (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from Fanchang, Anhui". Chinese Science Bulletin. 47: 586–590.
- Mammal genera
- Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson
- Tapirs