Tapirus veroensis
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| Tapirus veroensis | |
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| Species: | T. veroensis
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| Tapirus veroensis | |
Tapirus veroensis is an extinct Tapir species that lived in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. Tapirus veronensis is thought to have gone extinct around 11,000 years ago.[1]
History
The first T. veroensis fossil was found at Vero Beach, Florida, in 1915 and named in 1918 by the Florida State Geologist E. H. Sellards.[1]
Physical Characteristics
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.[2] The T. veronensis was most similar to the extant Mountain Tapir.[2] As with all tapir species, T. veroensis had a proboscis used for grabbing branches to eat the foliage. They were herbivores, 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.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Fossil Tapir with Facts, Photos and Pictures of Fossil Teeth". Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
- ^ a b c "The Extinct Vero Tapir (Tapirus veroensis)". GeorgiaBeforePeople. December 20, 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
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