Tapiroidea

Tapiroidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls which includes the modern Tapir. Members of the Superfamily are small to large browsing mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses. The first members of the superfamily appeared during the Early Eocene 55 million years ago.

Evolution and Natural History

The first tapirids, such as Heptodon, appeared in the early Eocene.^[1] They appeared very similar to modern forms, but were about half the size, and lack the proboscis. The first true tapirs, appeared in the Oligocene, and by the Miocene, such genera as Miotapirus were almost indistinguishable to the extant species. It is believed that Asian and American tapirs diverged around 20 to 30 million years ago, and that tapir varieties moved from North America to Central and South America around 3 million years ago.^[2] For much of their history, tapirs were spread across the northern hemisphere, where they became extinct as recently as 10,000 years ago.^[3]

It is also believed by some scientists that the tapir may have evolved from the Hyracotherium (primitive horse).^[4]

Taxonomy

• Superfamily Tapiroidea
  • Family †Deperetellidae
    • Genus †Bahinolophus
    • Genus †Deperetella
  • Family Tapiridae
    • Genus †Colodon
    • Genus †Dilophodon
    • Genus †Heteraletes
    • Genus †Megatapirus
    • Genus †Miotapirus
    • Genus †Nexuotapirus
    • Genus †Palaeotapirus
    • Genus †Paratapirus
    • Genus †Plesiocolopirus
    • Genus †Plesiotapirus
    • Genus †Protapirus (syn. Tanyops)
    • Genus †Selenolophodon
    • Genus †Tapiravus
    • Genus Tapirus
    • Genus †Teleolophus
• Placement uncertain
  • Genus †Atalonodon
  • Genus †Cymbalophus
  • Genus †Euryletes
  • Genus †Helaletes
  • Genus †Heptodon
  • Genus †Indolophus
  • Genus †Paracolodon
  • Genus †Thuliadanta
  • Genus †Veragromovia

References