Megatapirus
| Megatapirus Temporal range: Early Pleistocene to middle Holocene[1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| fossil Megatapirus augustus skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Superfamily: | Tapiroidea |
| Family: | Tapiridae |
| Genus: | Megatapirus |
| Species: | M. augustus |
| Binomial name | |
| Megatapirus augustus Matthew & Granger, 1923 | |
The giant tapir (Megatapirus augustus) is an extinct tapir that lived in southern China and Vietnam. It appeared soon after the Early Pleistocene and survived until about the Holocene.[1] It was larger than modern tapirs, being 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) long and 0.9 metres (3.0 ft) tall at the shoulders, and may have weighed up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).
References
Comparison of M. augustus and Tapirus indicus
- Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell
- Chinese Fossil Vertebrates by Spencer G. Lucas
- Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time by Edwin H. Colbert, Michael Morales, and Eli C. Minkoff
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