Tapirus copei

Tapirus copei
Temporal range: 2.5–1 Ma
↓
Early Pleistocene–Middle Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Superfamily: Tapiroidea
Family: Tapiridae
Gray, 1821
Genus: Tapirus
Brünnich, 1772
Species: T. copei
Binomial name
Tapirus copei
Simpson 1945[1]
Synonyms

Tapirus haysii[2]

Tapirus copei, commonly known as Cope's Tapir, is an extinct species of tapir that inhabited North America during the early to middle Pleistocene Epoch (~2.5-1 Ma).[3] The fossil remains of two juvenile Tapirus copei were collected in Hillsborough County, Florida on 31 August 1963.[4] It was the second largest North American tapir; the first being Tapirus merriami.[1]

Taxonomy

There are multiple pieces of evidence which indicate most, if not all, of the 5 accepted Pleistocene tapir species found in the United States (T. californicus, T. haysii (T. copei), T. lundeliusi, T. merriami, T. veroensis) may actually belong to the same species. T. californicus was considered to be a subspecies of T. haysii by Merriam,[5] T. californicus and T. veroensis are nearly impossible to distinguish morphologically and occupy the same time frame,[6] being separated only by location, and T. haysii, T. veroensis, and T. lundeliusi are already considered so closely related that they occupy the same subgenus (Helicotapirus).[2] Additionally, few details distinguish T. haysii and T. veroensis except size, date, and wear of teeth;[3] and the intermediate sizes overlap greatly with many specimens originally assigned to one species, then later switched over to another.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Kurtén, Björn. Pleistocene Mammals of North America. p. 293. ISBN 0231516967.
  2. 1 2 Hulbert, Richard Jr. (September 30, 2010). "A new early Pleistocene tapir (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a review of Blancan tapirs from the state" (PDF). Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 49 (3): 67–126.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tapirus haysii". Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  4. ↑ http://collections.si.edu/search/record/nmnhpaleobiology_3447081
  5. ↑ "Tapirus haysii californicus". Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Jefferson, George T. (August 14, 1989). "Late Cenozoic Tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) of Western North America" (PDF). Contributions in Science (406).


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