''Tapirus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a Suidae, pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, South and Centr ...

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''.

Extant species

The

Kabomani tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupian language, Tupi ), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, (Portuguese language, Brazilian Portuguese), and ''la sachava ...

was at one point recognized as another living member of the genus, but is now considered to be nested within ''T. terrestris''.

Evolution

The genus ''Tapirus'' first appeared during the Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

(around 16-10 million years ago), known fossils in both Europe (''T. telleri'') and North America (''T. johnsoni'' and ''T. polkensis''). The youngest tapir in Europe, '' Tapirus arvernensis'' became extinct at the end of the Pliocene, around 2.6 million years ago. ''Tapirus'' dispersed into South America during the Early Pleistocene as part of the

Great American Interchange The Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land ...

, around 2.6-1 million years ago. Tapirs suffered considerable extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene, and went completely extinct north of southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 *†'' 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 *†'' Tapirus tarijensis'' Ameghino, 1902 *†'' Tapirus veroensis'' Sellards, 1918 *†'' Tapirus webbi'' Hulbert, 2005

References

{{Authority control Tapirs Mammal genera Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson Taxa described in 1762