Tapiroidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls which includes the modern Tapir

Tapir

A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...

. 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-toed ungulate

Odd-toed ungulate

An odd-toed ungulate is a mammal with hooves that feature an odd number of toes. Odd-toed ungulates comprise the order Perissodactyla . The middle toe on each hoof is usually larger than its neighbours...

s, including horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s and rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....

es. The first members of the superfamily appeared during the Early Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 55 million years ago.

Evolution and Natural History

The first tapirids, such as Heptodon

Heptodon

Heptodon is an extinct genus of tapir-type herbivore of the family Helaletidae endemic to North America during the Eocene epoch. It lived from 55.4—48.6 mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...

, appeared in the early Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

. 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

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...

, and by the Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

, such genera as Miotapirus

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 it was even the same size. Most likely it was also nocturnal and very...

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 tapir varieties moved from North America to Central and South America around 3 million years ago. 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 the Hyracotherium

Hyracotherium

Hyracotherium , also known as Eohippus or the dawn horse, is an extinct genus of very small perissodactyl ungulates that lived in the woodlands of the northern hemisphere, with species ranging throughout Asia, Europe, and North America during the early Tertiary Period and the early to mid Eocene...

 (primitive horse).

Taxonomy

• Superfamily Tapiroidea
  • Family †Deperetellidae
    • Genus †Bahinolophus
    • Genus †Deperetella
  • Family Tapiridae
    • Genus †Colodon
    • Genus †Dilophodon
    • Genus †Heteraletes
    • Genus †Megatapirus
      Megatapirus
      Megatapirus is an extinct genus of tapir found in several location in China. It was long and about high. It is also called the giant tapir.-Sources:* Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell...
      
      
    • Genus †Miotapirus
      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 it was even the same size. Most likely it was also nocturnal and very...
      
      
    • Genus †Nexuotapirus
    • Genus †Palaeotapirus
    • Genus †Paratapirus
    • Genus †Plesiocolopirus
    • Genus †Plesiotapirus
    • Genus †Protapirus
      Protapirus
      Protapirus is an extinct genus of tapir. Fossil specimens of this genus have been found in North America and Europe.-References:* Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell...
      
      (syn. Tanyops)
    • Genus †Selenolophodon
    • Genus †Tapiravus
    • Genus Tapirus
    • Genus †Teleolophus
• Placement uncertain
  • Genus †Atalonodon
  • Genus †Cymbalophus
  • Genus †Euryletes
  • Genus †Helaletes
  • Genus †Heptodon
    Heptodon
    Heptodon is an extinct genus of tapir-type herbivore of the family Helaletidae endemic to North America during the Eocene epoch. It lived from 55.4—48.6 mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...
    
    
  • Genus †Indolophus
  • Genus †Paracolodon
  • Genus †Thuliadanta
  • Genus †Veragromovia