Tapirus polkensis
Appearance
Tapirus polkensis Temporal range:
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Fossil replicas on display at theGray Fossil Site& Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Tapiridae |
Genus: | Tapirus |
Species: | †T. polkensis
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Binomial name | |
†Tapirus polkensis Olsen, 1960
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Tapirus polkensis,thepygmy tapir,is a smallprehistorictapirthat lived inNorth Americaduring thelate Mioceneandearly Pliocene.[1]T. polkensishad an estimated mass of around 125 kg (276 lb),[1]making it smaller than any extant tapir.
TheGray Fossil Sitein northeastTennesseeis home to the world's largest known fossil assemblage ofT. polkensis.
References
[edit]- ^abRichard C. Hulbert Jr.; Steven C. Wallace; Walter E. Klippel & Paul W. Parmalee (2009). "Cranial morphology and systematics of an extraordinary sample of the Late Neogene dwarf tapir,Tapirus polkensis(Olsen) ".Journal of Paleontology.83(2): 238–262.doi:10.1666/08-062.1.