Tapirus
{{Short description|Genus of tapir}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|16|0}}Miocene – Recent
| image = South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris).JPG
| image_caption = South American tapir, a type species of Tapirus
| taxon = Tapirus
| authority = Brisson, 1762{{MSW3 Perissodactyla |id=14100037 |page=633}}
| type_species = Hippopotamus terrestris
(=today is Tapirus terrestris)
| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * T. bairdii
For extinct species, see text
| 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{{cite journal |author=Hulbert, Richard C. |year=2010 |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 |volume=49 |number=3 |pages=67–126 |doi=10.58782/flmnh.ezjr9001 |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/03/bulletin-vol49no3.pdf}})
| 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.{{cite book |author1=Groves, C.P. |author1-link=Colin Groves |author2=Grubb, P. |author2-link=Peter Grubb (zoologist) |year=2011 |title=Ungulate Taxonomy |place=Baltimore, Maryland |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=v3uZtA1ZpTAC&pg=PA18 18–20] |isbn=978-1-4214-0093-8 |lccn=2011008168 |oclc=708357723 |ol=25220152M |url=https://zmmu.msu.ru/files/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B0%20%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0/grubb-groves-2011_taxonomy_ungulates.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226165759/http://zmmu.msu.ru/files/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B0%20%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0/grubb-groves-2011_taxonomy_ungulates.pdf |archive-date=2019-12-26 |url-status=live}}
Extant species
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120px | Baird's tapir (also called the Central American tapir) | Tapirus bairdii (Gill, 1865) | Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America. |
| 120px | South American tapir (also called the Brazilian tapir or lowland tapir) | Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) | Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the West |
| 120px | Mountain tapir (also called the woolly tapir) | Tapirus pinchaque (Roulin, 1829) | Eastern and Central Cordilleras mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, and the far north of Peru. |
| 120px | Malayan tapir (also called the Asian tapir, Oriental tapir or Indian tapir) | Tapirus indicus (Desmarest, 1819) | Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand |
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.{{Cite journal|date=2016-03-01|title=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|journal=Mammalian Biology|language=en|volume=81|issue=2|pages=163–175|doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2015.11.001|issn=1616-5047|last1=Ruiz-García|first1=Manuel|last2=Castellanos|first2=Armando|last3=Bernal|first3=Luz Agueda|last4=Pinedo-Castro|first4=Myreya|last5=Kaston|first5=Franz|last6=Shostell|first6=Joseph M.|bibcode=2016MamBi..81..163R }}{{Cite web|url=http://tapirs.org/tapirs/|title=All About the Terrific Tapir {{!}} Tapir Specialist Group|website=Tapir Specialist Group|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-01}}
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).{{Cite journal |last1=Pandolfi |first1=Luca |last2=Sorbelli |first2=Leonardo |last3=Oms |first3=Oriol |last4=Rodriguez-Salgado |first4=Pablo |last5=Campeny |first5=Gerard |last6=de Soler |first6=Bruno Gómez |last7=Grandi |first7=Federica |last8=Agustí |first8=Jordi |last9=Madurell-Malapeira |first9=Joan |date=January 2023 |title=The Tapirus from Camp dels Ninots (NE Iberia): implications for morphology, morphometry and phylogeny of Neogene Tapiridae |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2023.2250117 |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2023.2250117 |bibcode=2023JSPal..2150117P |issn=1477-2019}} The youngest tapir in Europe, Tapirus arvernensis became extinct at the end of the Pliocene, around 2.6 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Cirilli |first1=Omar |last2=Pandolfi |first2=Luca |last3=Bernor |first3=Raymond L. |date=December 2020 |title=The Villafranchian perissodactyls of Italy: knowledge of the fossil record and future research perspectives |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0016699520300875 |journal=Geobios |language=en |volume=63 |pages=1–21 |bibcode=2020Geobi..63....1C |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2020.09.001 |s2cid=228974817|url-access=subscription }} Tapirus dispersed into South America during the Early Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange, around 2.6-1 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Holanda |first1=Elizete Celestino |last2=Ferrero |first2=Brenda Soledad |date=March 2013 |title=Reappraisal of the Genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=33–44 |doi=10.1007/s10914-012-9196-z |s2cid=15780542 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11336/18792}}
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{{cite journal |last1=Holanda |first1=E.C. |last2=Ferrero |first2=B.S. |date=2012 |title=Reappraisal of the Genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla, Tapiridae): Systematics and Phylogenetic Affinities of the South American Tapirs |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=20 |pages=33–44 |doi=10.1007/s10914-012-9196-z |s2cid=254697945 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11336/18792}}{{cite journal |last1=Holanda |first1=E.C. |last2=Rincón |first2=A.D. |title=Tapirs from the Pleistocene of Venezuela |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |date=2012 |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=463–473 |doi=10.4202/app.2011.0001 |s2cid=54846719 |doi-access=free }}
- †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{{cite journal |last1=Tong |first1=H. |title=On fossil remains of Early Pleistocene tapir (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from Fanchang, Anhui |journal=Chinese Science Bulletin |date=2002 |volume=47 |issue=7 |pages=586–590 |doi=10.1360/02tb9135 |doi-broken-date=3 December 2024 |bibcode=2002ChSBu..47..586T |s2cid=128416226 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1360/02tb9135|url-access=subscription }}
- †Tapirus tarijensis Ameghino, 1902
- †Tapirus veroensis Sellards, 1918
- †Tapirus webbi Hulbert, 2005
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Perissodactyla}}
{{Perissodactyla Genera|T.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q128001}}
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