Tapirus arvernensis

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Tapirus arvernensis
Temporal range: Late Miocene–Late Pliocene
Tapirus arvernensis NHMW.webp
Partially crushed skull of T. arvernensis
Tapirus arvernensis.JPG
Limb bones of T. arvernensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Tapiridae
Genus: Tapirus
Species:
T. arvernensis
Binomial name
Tapirus arvernensis
Croizet & Jobert, 1828

Tapirus arvernensis is an extinct species of tapir that lived in Europe from the end of the late Late Miocene (MN 13, around 7-5 million years ago) until Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary (around 2.6 million years ago). It was the last tapir species native to Europe. It is suggested to be closely related to the living Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus). [1] It is uncertain whether T. arvernensis descends from/is related to earlier Tapirus species present in Europe, such as the Late Miocene Tapirus priscus , or whether it represents a separate migration from Asia. The latter has been argued to be more likely given the apparent absence of tapirs belonging to the genus Tapirus in Europe (though the extinct tapir genus Tapiriscus was present) immediately before the appearance of T. arvernensis. [2]

The species is known from several well preserved specimens, including several largely complete skulls, [1] [3] as well as several nearly complete skeletons, with the best preserved specimens being from the Camp dels Ninots lagerstatte in Spain. [4] It is was about the same size as the living mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), reaching 1.8–2 metres (5 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) in length and 75–80 centimetres (2.46–2.62 ft) in shoulder height, with a body mass estimated to have exceeded 200 kilograms (440 lb). [5] It has similar proportions to living tapir species such as the South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), though in comparison to that species it did not have a pronounced sagittal crest at the top of the skull. [4] Although it has been suggested that the species can be subdivided into two chronosubspecies based on body size, the earlier T. arvernensis minor and the later T. a. arvernensis, this has been disputed, with analysis of teeth dimensions suggesting there is no clear size trend for the species across time. [1]

This species had a wide distribution across Europe being found in Spain, [1] southern England (Red Crag), [6] the Netherlands, [7] France, [3] Italy, [8] Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Ukraine and the North Caucasus. [9] [1] It is suggested to have inhabited relatively warm, humid, forested environments. [10] Tooth wear analysis of specimens from Britain suggests a browsing based diet including leaves and twigs. [6]

Other mammal species that lived alongside Tapirus arvernensis in the Pliocene of Europe include the large mastodon "Mammut" borsoni, the elephant-like "tetralophodont gomphothere" Anancus arvernensis, the primitive mammoth Mammuthus rumanus , the large rhinoceros Stephanorhinus jeanvireti , the pig Sus arvernensis, the bovines Alephis and Leptobos, the gazelle Gazella borbonica , the deer Croizetoceros ramosus and Praeelaphuslyra, the monkey Mesopithecus monspessulanus, the three-toed hipparionine equine Hipparion crassum, the lion-sized sabertooth cat Homotherium crenatidens , and the bear Ursus etruscus . [11] [12] [13] [14] [4]

Reference

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pandolfi, Luca; Sorbelli, Leonardo; Oms, Oriol; Rodriguez-Salgado, Pablo; Campeny, Gerard; de Soler, Bruno Gómez; Grandi, Federica; Agustí, Jordi; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan (1 January 2023). "The Tapirus from Camp dels Ninots (NE Iberia): implications for morphology, morphometry and phylogeny of Neogene Tapiridae" (PDF). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21 (1) 2250117. Bibcode:2023JSPal..2150117P. doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2250117. ISSN   1477-2019.
  2. Pandolfi, Luca; Arranz, Sara G.; Almécija, Sergio; Galindo, Jordi; Luján, Àngel H.; Pina, Marta; Urciuoli, Alessandro; Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Alba, David M. (2025). "Late Miocene Tapiridae from Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula): taxonomic and paleoenvironmental implications". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144 (1) 3. doi: 10.1186/s13358-024-00342-5 . ISSN   1664-2376.
  3. 1 2 Rustioni, M. (1992). "On Pliocene tapirs from France and Italy" (PDF). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 31: 269–294.
  4. 1 2 3 MacLaren, Jamie A.; Holbrook, Luke T. (2024). "The Fossil Record of Tapirs". In Melletti, Mario; Reyna-Hurtado, Rafael; Medici, Patrícia (eds.). Tapirs of the World. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 25–59. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-65311-7_2. ISBN   978-3-031-65310-0.
  5. Tsoukala, Evangelia (2022). "The Fossil Record of Tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) in Greece". In Vlachos, Evangelos (ed.). Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 403–407. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_13. ISBN   978-3-030-68441-9.
  6. 1 2 Rivals, Florent; Lister, Adrian M. (August 2016). "Dietary flexibility and niche partitioning of large herbivores through the Pleistocene of Britain" . Quaternary Science Reviews. 146: 116–133. Bibcode:2016QSRv..146..116R. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.06.007.
  7. van Kolfschoten, T. (2001). "Pleistocene mammals from The Netherlands" (PDF). Boll. Soc. Paleontol. Ital. 40: 209–215.
  8. Rustioni, M.; Mazza, P. (1 January 2001). "Taphonomic analysis of Tapirus arvernensis remains from the lower valdarno (Tuscany, central Italy)". Geobios. 34 (4): 469–474. Bibcode:2001Geobi..34..469R. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(01)80010-3. ISSN   0016-6995.
  9. "Tapirus arvernensis". mindat.org . Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  10. Guérin, Claude; Tsoukala, Evangelia (2013). "The Tapiridae, Rhinocerotidae and Suidae (Mammalia) of the Early Villafranchian site of Milia (Grevena, Macedonia, Greece)" . Geodiversitas. 35 (2): 447–489. Bibcode:2013Geodv..35..447G. doi:10.5252/g2013n2a7. ISSN   1280-9659.
  11. Guérin, Claude; Tsoukala, Evangelia (June 2013). "The Tapiridae, Rhinocerotidae and Suidae (Mammalia) of the Early Villafranchian site of Milia (Grevena, Macedonia, Greece)" . Geodiversitas. 35 (2): 447–489. Bibcode:2013Geodv..35..447G. doi:10.5252/g2013n2a7. ISSN   1280-9659.
  12. Pradella, Chiara; Rook, Lorenzo (June 2007). "Mesopithecus (Primates: Cercopithecoidea) from Villafranca d'Asti (Early Villafranchian; NW Italy) and palaeoecological context of its extinction". Swiss Journal of Geosciences. 100 (1): 145–152. Bibcode:2007SwJG..100..145P. doi:10.1007/s00015-007-1208-2. ISSN   1661-8726.
  13. Tsoukala, E.; van Loghem, W.; Lazaridis, G.; Mol, D. (2014). "Carnivores of the early Villafranchian site of Milia, (Grevena, Macedonia, Greece)". In Kostopoulos, Dimitris; Vlachos, Evangelos; Tsoukala, Evangelia (eds.). Abstract Book of the VIth International Conference on Mammoths and their Relatives. Scientific Annals of the School of Geology. Vol. Special Volume 102. pp. 6–7. ISBN   978-960-9502-14-6.
  14. Crégut-Bonnoure, Evelyne; Tsoukala, Εvangelia (July 2017). "The Late Pliocene Bovidae and Cervidae (Mammalia) of Milia (Grevena, Macedonia, Greece)" . Quaternary International. 445: 215–249. Bibcode:2017QuInt.445..215C. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.10.043.