Tapiroidea is a superfamily of

perissodactyl Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) o ...

s which includes the modern

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

. Members of the superfamily are small to large

browsing Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. When used about human beings it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing o ...

mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short,

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ (anatomy), organ that has Adaptation (biology), adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely der ...

snouts. Their closest relatives are the other

odd-toed ungulate Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) ...

s, including horses and rhinoceroses. Taxonomically, they are placed in suborder

Ceratomorpha Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) ...

along with the rhino superfamily,

Rhinocerotoidea Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily consisting of three family groups of odd-toed ungulates, three of which, the Amynodontidae, Hyracodontidae, and Paraceratheriidae, are extinct. The only extant family group is the Rhinocer ...

. The first members of Tapiroidea appeared during the

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian i ...

, 55 million years ago.

Evolution and natural history

The first tapirids, such as ''

Heptodon ''Heptodon'' is an extinct genus of tapir-type herbivore of the family Helaletidae endemic to North America during the Early Eocene. It lived from 50.3—48.6 Annum, mya, existing for approximately . ''Heptodon'' was about in length, and closely ...

'', appeared in the early Eocene. 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 The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

, and by the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first 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 means "less recen ...

, such genera as ''

Miotapirus ''Miotapirus harrisonensis'' is an extinct species of tapir lived during the early Miocene Epoch some 20 million years ago in North America. Physically ''Miotapirus'' was virtually identical to its modern relatives; with a length of 2 m (6 f ...

'' 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 tapirs migrated from North America and Central America into South America around 3 million years ago, 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 lan ...

. For much of their history, tapirs were spread across the northern hemisphere, where they became extinct as recently as 10,000 years ago. It is also believed by some scientists that the tapir may have evolved from ''

Hyracotherium ''Hyracotherium'' ( ; "hyrax-like beast") is an extinct genus of very small (about 60 cm in length) perissodactyl ungulates that was found in the London Clay formation. This small, fox-sized animal was once considered to be the earliest know ...

'' (a

palaeothere Palaeotheriidae is an extinct family of herbivorous perissodactyl mammals related to equids. They ranged across Europe and Asia from the Eocene through to the early Oligocene 55–33 Ma, existing for approximately . Living in dense fore ...

).Florida Museum of Natural History Fact Page
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Taxonomy

*Superfamily Tapiroidea **Family † Deperetellidae ***Genus †'' Bahinolophus'' ***Genus †'' Deperetella'' ***Genus †'' Irenolophus'' ***Genus †''

Teleolophus ''Teleolophus'' is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammals related to tapirs that flourished in the Eocene of Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own righ ...

'' **Family

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

***Genus †'' Eotapirus'' ***Genus †''

'' ***Genus †''

Nexuotapirus ''Nexuotapirus'' is an extinct genus of tapir from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene of North America. Taxonomy ''Nexuotapirus'' was erected in 1998. The type species, ''N. marslandensis'', was originally classified under ''Miotapirus''. The s ...

'' ***Genus †''

Paratapirus ''Paratapirus'' is an extinct genus of tapir known from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene of Europe. Taxonomy Two species are considered valid: *''P. helveticus'' *''P. intermedius'' The species ''P. moguntiacus'' and ''P. robustus'' are ...

'' ***Genus †''

Plesiotapirus ''Plesiotapirus'' is an extinct genus of tapir from the Miocene of Asia. A single species is usually considered valid, ''Plesiotapirus yagii''. It was first described in 1921 based on fragmentary dental remains found in Japan. Fossils of ''P. yag ...

'' ***Genus †''

Protapirus ''Protapirus'' (Latin: "before" (pro), + Brazilian Indian: "tapir" (tapira)) is an extinct genus of tapir known from the Oligocene and Miocene of North America and Eurasia. Taxonomy The type species is ''Protapirus priscus'' from the Late Oligoce ...

'' (syn. ''Tanyops'') ***Genus †'' Tapiravus'' ***Genus ''

Tapirus ''Tapirus'' is a genus of tapir which contains the three living American 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 ...

'' **Family †

Helaletidae The Helaletidae is an extinct family of tapiroid closely related and likely ancestral to the true tapirs, which contain ''Protapirus ''Protapirus'' (Latin: "before" (pro), + Brazilian Indian: "tapir" (tapira)) is an extinct genus of tapir know ...

***Genus †'' Colodon'' ***Genus †''

Dilophodon 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-toe ...

'' ***Genus †''

Helaletes ''Helaletes'' is an extinct perissodactyl closely related to tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle ...

'' ***Genus †''

'' ***Genus †'' Heteraletes'' ***Genus †''

Paracolodon ''Paracolodon'' is an extinct genus of tapiroid perissodactyl belonging to the family Helaletidae. Fossils have been found in Mongolia and the Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous r ...

'' ***Genus †'' Plesiocolopirus'' *Placement uncertain **Genus †'' Indolophus'' **Genus †'' Thuliadanta''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7684685 Odd-toed ungulates Tapirs Extant Eocene first appearances Mammal superfamilies