Tapirus veroensis: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Extinct species of mammal}} |
{{Short description|Extinct species of mammal}} |
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{{Speciesbox |
{{Speciesbox |
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| fossil_range = |
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Pleistocene}} |
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| image = |
| image = Tapirus veroensis.svg |
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| image_caption = |
| image_caption = Drawing of the mostly complete skull PV4257 |
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| image2 = Tellus Tapirus.jpg |
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| image2_caption = Jaws from ''T. veroensis'' at the [[Tellus Science Museum]] |
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| extinct = yes |
| extinct = yes |
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| genus = Tapirus |
| genus = Tapirus |
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'''''Tapirus veroensis''''' |
'''''Tapirus veroensis''''' is an extinct [[tapir]] species that lived in the area of the modern eastern and southern United States during the [[Pleistocene]] epoch ([[Irvingtonian]]-[[Rancholabrean]]). ''Tapirus veronensis'' is thought to have gone extinct around 11,000 years ago.<ref name="Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com">{{Cite web |title = Fossil Tapir with Facts, Photos and Pictures of Fossil Teeth |url = http://www.fossil-treasures-of-florida.com/fossil-tapir.html |publisher = Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com |accessdate = 2016-01-07}}</ref> |
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== History == |
== History == |
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The first complete skull with full dentition of ''T. veroensis'' [[fossil]] was found at Vero Beach, Florida, in 1915 and named in 1918 by the Florida State Geologist E. H. Sellards. Fragmentary specimens had been described by Leidy as early as 1852.<ref name="Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com" /> |
The first complete skull with full dentition of ''T. veroensis'' [[fossil]] was found at [[Vero Beach, Florida]], in 1915 and named in 1918 by the Florida State Geologist E. H. Sellards. Fragmentary specimens had been described by Leidy as early as 1852.<ref name="Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com" /> |
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== Distribution == |
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''Tapirus veroensis'' inhabited the Southern and Eastern United States, ranging as far west as Texas and as far north as Illinois and New York State, with a large number of finds being known from Florida.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Graham |first=Russell W. |last2=Grady |first2=Frederick |last3=Ryan |first3=Timothy M. |date=October 2019 |title=Juvenile Pleistocene tapir skull from Russells Reserve Cave, Bath County, Virginia: Implications for cold climate adaptations |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618218306992 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=530-531 |pages=35–41 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2018.06.021|doi-access=free }}</ref> |
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== Physical characteristics == |
== Physical characteristics == |
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[[File: |
[[File:Mountain Tapir2.jpg|left|thumb|''Tapirus veroensis'' was adapted to living in cold environments like the living [[mountain tapir]] (pictured)]] |
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''Tapirus veroensis'' is thought to have been more tolerant of cold environments than most living tapirs, similar to the living [[mountain tapir]] (''Tapirus pinchaque'').<ref name=":0" /> It was mid-sized for a tapir, comparable in size to [[Baird's tapir]] or the [[South American tapir]], with an estimated body weight of approximately {{Convert|230|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maclaren |first=Jamie A |last2=Hulbert |first2=Richard C |last3=Wallace |first3=Steven C |last4=Nauwelaerts |first4=Sandra |date=2018-10-05 |title=A morphometric analysis of the forelimb in the genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) reveals influences of habitat, phylogeny and size through time and across geographical space |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/184/2/499/4994732 |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |volume=184 |issue=2 |pages=499–515 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zly019 |issn=0024-4082}}</ref> The [[sagittal crest]] was low in comparison to some other tapir species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Linden |first=Lisa |last2=Stoops |first2=Kim |last3=Dumbá |first3=Larissa C. C. S. |last4=Cozzuol |first4=Mario A. |last5=Maclaren |first5=Jamie A. |date=March 2023 |title=Sagittal crest morphology decoupled from relative bite performance in Pleistocene tapirs (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1749-4877.12627 |journal=Integrative Zoology |language=en |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=254–277 |doi=10.1111/1749-4877.12627 |issn=1749-4877|hdl=10067/1865710151162165141 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> It has been estimated to have had a relatively high bite force, and was probably capable of consuming a wide variety of vegetation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dumbá |first=Larissa Costa Coimbra Santos |last2=Rodrigues |first2=Flávio Henrique Guimarães |last3=Maclaren |first3=Jamie Alexander |last4=Cozzuol |first4=Mario Alberto |date=2022-04-22 |title=Dental occlusal surface and seed dispersal evolution in Tapirus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) |url=https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/136/1/23/6550529 |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |volume=136 |issue=1 |pages=23–40 |doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blac013 |issn=0024-4066}}</ref> |
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''Tapirus veroensis'' fossils found in Northern Alabama were with [[caribou]] and [[peccary]] fossils, which implies that ''T. veroensis'' was capable of living in a temperate climate with subfreezing temperatures.<ref name="Gelbart">{{Cite web |title = The Extinct Vero Tapir (Tapirus veroensis) <!--italics missing in original--> |date=December 20, 2011 |url = https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/the-extinct-vero-tapir-tapirus-veroensis/ |publisher = GeorgiaBeforePeople |accessdate = 2016-01-07}}</ref> ''T. veronensis'' was most similar to the extant [[mountain tapir]].<ref name="Gelbart" /> As with all tapir species, ''T. veroensis'' had a [[proboscis]] used for grabbing branches to eat foliage. They were [[herbivore]]s, living on a diet of forest vegetation. They most likely weighed over 600 pounds (270 kilograms) and would have been capable of fending off large predators.<ref name="Gelbart" /> |
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== Taxonomy == |
== Taxonomy == |
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The taxonomy of Pleistocene North American tapirs has long been the subject of confusion, with many named species now recognised as synonyms of ''T. veroensis''. ''Tapirus veroensis'' is the type species of the subgenus ''Helicotapirus'', which includes several other species of extinct tapir from North America like ''[[Tapirus lundeliusi]]'' and ''[[Tapirus haysii]].'' These tapirs are thought to be more closely related to living South American tapirs than to the [[Malayan tapir]].<ref name=":1">Hulbert RC (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'' 49, 67– 126.</ref> ''Tapirus veroensis'' was coeval with two other species of North American tapir [[Tapirus merriami|''Tapirus'' ''merriami'']] and [[Tapirus californicus|''Tapirus'' ''californicus'']], native to Western North America, but their poor preservation makes their relationships to other tapirs uncertain.<ref name=":1" /> |
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There are multiple pieces of evidence which indicate most, if not all, of the 5 accepted Pleistocene tapir species found in North America (''[[Tapirus californicus|T. californicus]]'', ''[[Tapirus copei|T. haysii]]'' (''T. copei''), ''[[Tapirus lundeliusi|T. lundeliusi]]'', ''[[Tapirus merriami|T. merriami]]'', ''T. veroensis'') may actually belong to the same species. ''T. californicus'' was considered to be a subspecies of ''T. haysii'' by Merriam,<ref>{{cite web|title=Tapirus haysii californicus|url=http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=161430|accessdate=12 March 2017}}</ref> ''T. californicus'' and ''T. veroensis'' are nearly impossible to distinguish morphologically and occupy the same time frame,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jefferson|first1=George T.|title=Late Cenozoic Tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) of Western North America|journal=Contributions in Science|date=August 14, 1989|issue=406|url=http://www.nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/contrib_science/CS406.pdf}}</ref> being separated only by location, and ''T. haysii'', ''T. veroensis'', and ''T. lundeliusi'' are already considered so closely related that they occupy the same subgenus (''Helicotapirus'').<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hulbert|first1=Richard Jr.|title=A new early Pleistocene tapir (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a review of Blancan tapirs from the state|journal=Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History|date=September 30, 2010|volume=49|issue=3|pages=67–126|url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/files/6713/9447/0157/bulletin-vol49no3.pdf}}</ref> Additionally, few details distinguish ''T. haysii'' and ''T. veroensis'' except size, date, and wear of teeth;<ref name="T. haysii">{{cite web|title=Tapirus haysii|url=https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/species/tapirus-haysii|website=Florida Museum of Natural History|accessdate=12 March 2017}}</ref> and the intermediate sizes overlap greatly with many specimens originally assigned to one species, then later switched over to another.<ref name="T. haysii" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Latest revision as of 23:06, 10 December 2023
| Tapirus veroensis Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Drawing of the mostly complete skull PV4257 | |
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| Jaws from T. veroensis at the Tellus Science Museum | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Tapiridae |
| Genus: | Tapirus |
| Species: | †T. veroensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Tapirus veroensis Sellards, 1918
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Tapirus veroensis is an extinct tapir species that lived in the area of the modern eastern and southern United States during the Pleistocene epoch (Irvingtonian-Rancholabrean). Tapirus veronensis is thought to have gone extinct around 11,000 years ago.[1]
History[edit]
The first complete skull with full dentition of T. veroensis fossil was found at Vero Beach, Florida, in 1915 and named in 1918 by the Florida State Geologist E. H. Sellards. Fragmentary specimens had been described by Leidy as early as 1852.[1]
Distribution[edit]
Tapirus veroensis inhabited the Southern and Eastern United States, ranging as far west as Texas and as far north as Illinois and New York State, with a large number of finds being known from Florida.[2]
Physical characteristics[edit]
Tapirus veroensis is thought to have been more tolerant of cold environments than most living tapirs, similar to the living mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque).[2] It was mid-sized for a tapir, comparable in size to Baird's tapir or the South American tapir, with an estimated body weight of approximately 230 kilograms (510 lb).[3] The sagittal crest was low in comparison to some other tapir species.[4] It has been estimated to have had a relatively high bite force, and was probably capable of consuming a wide variety of vegetation.[5]
Taxonomy[edit]
The taxonomy of Pleistocene North American tapirs has long been the subject of confusion, with many named species now recognised as synonyms of T. veroensis. Tapirus veroensis is the type species of the subgenus Helicotapirus, which includes several other species of extinct tapir from North America like Tapirus lundeliusi and Tapirus haysii. These tapirs are thought to be more closely related to living South American tapirs than to the Malayan tapir.[6] Tapirus veroensis was coeval with two other species of North American tapir Tapirus merriami and Tapirus californicus, native to Western North America, but their poor preservation makes their relationships to other tapirs uncertain.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Fossil Tapir with Facts, Photos and Pictures of Fossil Teeth". Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ a b Graham, Russell W.; Grady, Frederick; Ryan, Timothy M. (October 2019). "Juvenile Pleistocene tapir skull from Russells Reserve Cave, Bath County, Virginia: Implications for cold climate adaptations". Quaternary International. 530–531: 35–41. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.06.021.
- ^ Maclaren, Jamie A; Hulbert, Richard C; Wallace, Steven C; Nauwelaerts, Sandra (2018-10-05). "A morphometric analysis of the forelimb in the genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) reveals influences of habitat, phylogeny and size through time and across geographical space". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (2): 499–515. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly019. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Van Linden, Lisa; Stoops, Kim; Dumbá, Larissa C. C. S.; Cozzuol, Mario A.; Maclaren, Jamie A. (March 2023). "Sagittal crest morphology decoupled from relative bite performance in Pleistocene tapirs (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae)". Integrative Zoology. 18 (2): 254–277. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12627. hdl:10067/1865710151162165141. ISSN 1749-4877.
- ^ Dumbá, Larissa Costa Coimbra Santos; Rodrigues, Flávio Henrique Guimarães; Maclaren, Jamie Alexander; Cozzuol, Mario Alberto (2022-04-22). "Dental occlusal surface and seed dispersal evolution in Tapirus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 136 (1): 23–40. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blac013. ISSN 0024-4066.
- ^ a b Hulbert RC (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 49, 67– 126.