Tapirus veroensis

Tapirus veroensis Temporal range: Pleistocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skeletal mount, American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Tapiridae
Genus:	Tapirus
Species:	†T. veroensis
Binomial name
†Tapirus veroensis Sellards, 1918

Tapirus veroensis is an extinct tapir species that lived in the area of the modern Eastern and Southern United States during the Pleistocene epoch (Irvingtonian-Rancholabrean). Tapirus veronensis is thought to have gone extinct around 11,000 years ago as part of the end-Pleistocene extinction event. ^[1]

History

The first complete skull with full dentition of T. veroensis fossil was found at Vero Beach, Florida, in 1915 and named in 1918 by the Florida State Geologist E. H. Sellards. Fragmentary specimens had been described by Leidy as early as 1852. ^[1]

Taxonomy

T. veroensis jaws, Tellus Science Museum

The taxonomy of Pleistocene North American tapirs has long been the subject of confusion, with many named species now recognised as synonyms of T. veroensis. Tapirus veroensis is the type species of the subgenus Helicotapirus, which includes several other species of extinct tapir from North America like T. lundeliusi and T. haysii. These tapirs are thought to be more closely related to living South American tapirs than to the Malayan tapir. ^[2] T. veroensis was coeval with T.merriami and T.californicus, native to Western North America, but their poor preservation makes their relationships to other tapirs uncertain. ^[2]

Distribution

Tapirus veroensis inhabited the Southern and Eastern United States, ranging as far west as Texas and as far north as Illinois and New York, with a large number of finds being known from Florida. ^[3]

Physical characteristics

Tapirus veroensis was adapted to living in cold environments like the living mountain tapir (pictured)

Diagram of skull in side-on view

Tapirus veroensis is thought to have been more tolerant of cold environments than most living tapirs, similar to the living mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). ^[3] It was mid-sized for a tapir, comparable in size to Baird's tapir or the South American tapir, with an estimated body weight of approximately 230 kilograms (510 lb). ^[4] The sagittal crest was low in comparison to some other tapir species. ^[5] It has been estimated to have had a relatively high bite force, and was probably capable of consuming a wide variety of vegetation. ^[6]

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

T. veroensis has been found in Jones Springs (Missouri) deposits in association with deciduous trees and American alligators. The age of the deposits are older than 40,000-60,000 years old, during a relatively warmer yet still temperate interglacial period. The climate would have been analogous to central and southern Arkansas. Specimens from Crankshaft Pit, Missouri, in contrast were found in association with cold adapted animals like Arctic shrews, Northern bog lemmings, snowshoe hares, southern red-backed voles, etc. As a result, T. veroensis appears to have been able to tolerate a broad range of temperatures. ^[3]

⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from Floridian T. veroensis indicate that their lifetime movements were restricted to Florida, suggesting that individuals of the species did not migrate long distances. ^[7]

References

1. "Fossil Tapir with Facts, Photos and Pictures of Fossil Teeth". Fossil-Treasures-of-Florida.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
2. Hulbert RC (2010). A new early Pleistocene tapir (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a review of Blancan tapirs from the state. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 49, 67– 126.
3. Graham, Russell W.; Grady, Frederick; Ryan, Timothy M. (October 2019). "Juvenile Pleistocene tapir skull from Russells Reserve Cave, Bath County, Virginia: Implications for cold climate adaptations". Quaternary International . 530–531: 35–41. Bibcode:2019QuInt.530...35G. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2018.06.021 .
4. Maclaren, Jamie A.; Hulbert, Richard C.; Wallace, Steven C.; Nauwelaerts, Sandra (5 October 2018). "A morphometric analysis of the forelimb in the genus Tapirus (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) reveals influences of habitat, phylogeny and size through time and across geographical space" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (2): 499–515. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly019. ISSN   0024-4082.
5. Van Linden, Lisa; Stoops, Kim; Dumbá, Larissa C. C. S.; Cozzuol, Mario A.; Maclaren, Jamie A. (March 2023). "Sagittal crest morphology decoupled from relative bite performance in Pleistocene tapirs (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae)". Integrative Zoology . 18 (2): 254–277. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12627. hdl: 10067/1865710151162165141 . ISSN   1749-4877. PMID   35048523 . Retrieved 9 November 2025– via Wiley Online Library.
6. Dumbá, Larissa Costa Coimbra Santos; Rodrigues, Flávio Henrique Guimarães; Maclaren, Jamie Alexander; Cozzuol, Mario Alberto (22 April 2022). "Dental occlusal surface and seed dispersal evolution in Tapirus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla)" . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . 136 (1): 23–40. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blac013. ISSN   0024-4066 . Retrieved 9 November 2025– via Oxford Academic.
7. Hoppe, Kathryn A.; Koch, Paul L. (November 2007). "Reconstructing the migration patterns of late Pleistocene mammals from northern Florida, USA". Quaternary Research . 68 (3): 347–352. doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2007.08.001. ISSN   0033-5894 . Retrieved 9 November 2025– via Cambridge Core.