The type species is Protapirus priscus from the Late Oligocene of Quercy, France.[3]Protapirus is often considered the earliest true tapir, or at least a tapiroid that is the direct ancestor of the true tapir family.[4]
P. simplex skull illustration.Mandible of Protapirus priscus.
Distribution and history
The oldest species is the North American P. simplex from the White River Formation. A later North American species is P. obliquidens From North America, the genus spread into Eurasia during the Oligocene,[5] with five species known from the Oligocene and Miocene of Europe and a single species (P. gromovae) from Kazakhstan.[6]
Description
They were of similar size to modern tapirs, but had more primitive features, such as premolars that were less molariform in shape. In comparison to more primitive tapiroids, Protapirus had retracted nasal region which may indicate the presence of a trunk.[7] However, the nasals were not as shortened as in modern tapirs, so the proboscis would have likely been less prominent.[8]
^Agustí, Jordi; Antón, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press. p. 91. ISBN9780231116411.
^Benton, Rachel C. (2015). The White River Badlands: Geology and Paleontology. Indiana University Press. p. 156. ISBN9780253016089.
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