Tapirus lundeliusi

Tapirus lundeliusi; Temporal range: 2.5–1.6 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Early Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Tapiridae
Genus:	Tapirus
Species:	T. lundeliusi
Binomial name
	Tapirus lundeliusi;

Tapirus lundeliusi is an extinct species of tapir that lived in Florida in the early Pleistocene.[1] It was similar in size and shape to the still-living Mountain tapir (T. pinchaque).

Taxonomy

There are multiple pieces of evidence which indicate most, if not all, of the 5 accepted Pleistocene tapir species found in the modern-day 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,[2] T. californicus and T. veroensis are nearly impossible to distinguish morphologically and occupy the same time frame,[3] 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).[1] Additionally, few details distinguish T. haysii and T. veroensis except size, date, and wear of teeth;[4] and the intermediate sizes overlap greatly with many specimens originally assigned to one species, then later switched over to another.[4]

References

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.
"Tapirus haysii californicus". Retrieved 12 March 2017.
Jefferson, George T. (August 14, 1989). "Late Cenozoic Tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) of Western North America" (PDF). Contributions in Science (406).
"Tapirus haysii". Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 March 2017.

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[T._lundeliusi-1] 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.

[2] "Tapirus haysii californicus". Retrieved 12 March 2017.

[3] Jefferson, George T. (August 14, 1989). "Late Cenozoic Tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) of Western North America" (PDF). Contributions in Science (406).

[T._haysii-4] "Tapirus haysii". Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 March 2017.