Giant tapir

The paleontologist Max Schlosser of the Palaeontological Museum, Munich was the first to discover what would later be recognised to be remains of Tapirus augustus while purchasing teeth from Chinese drug stores in 1903 (fossils such as these were regarded as "dragon bones" and were collected to be used in traditional Chinese medicine) which he assigned to the species Tapirus sinensis. The species was first described in 1923 by William Diller Matthew and Walter Granger based on a skull, an upper jaw fragment of another skull, and two lower jaws found by the American Museum of Natural History during the museum's 1920s "Central Asiatic Expeditions" (which despite their name, took place almost entirely in China and Mongolia) in the fissure fill deposits of Yen-ching-kao (now romanised to Yanjinggou), near Wanzhou in what was then part of Sichuan but what is now part of Chongqing province in southwest China. They regarded it as being so distinctive as to tentatively warrant being placed in the new subgenus Megatapirus, (from Greek μέγας, megas, meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great'). but phylogenetic analyses suggest that the species is nested within the genus Tapirus, and as such other authors have continued to argue for Megatapirus to be treated a subgenus of Tapirus rather than as a separate genus. and has been argued to have probably descended from this species. at least as early as 300–400,000 years ago. == Description ==

The skull of Tapirus augustus is large, on average 25% larger than those of living tapirs such as the Malayan tapir and the South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and proportionally is distinctly short and deep in comparison to other Tapirus species, with a high and thick vomer bone, noticeably moreso than in the Malayan or South American tapir. with a 2018 study estimating a body mass of approximately . In comparison to the living Malayan tapir, its forelimb bones, in particular the humerus, are considerably less robust and more similar to those American Tapirus species. == Distribution ==

Tapirus augustus is known from localities across Southern China, eastwards to Fujian, southwards to Guangdong and westwards to Yunnan. It also occurred in southeast Asia, with records from Vietnam and Laos. Although historically suggested to be present in Taiwan, this suggestion is not supported by current research. == Ecology ==

Tapirus augustus is considered like other tapirs to have probably been a browsing animal. It is thought to have lived in tropical rainforest environments, likely in close vicinity of water, such as marshland and river banks. In southern China, Tapirus augustus formed part of the "Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna" alongside animals both living in the region today as well as those that are extinct, including the giant panda ancestor Ailuropoda baconi, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) the extinct elephant-relative Stegodon orientalis, the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the extinct rhinoceros Rhinoceros sinensis (which may in reality actually represent the living Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis), wild boar (Sus scrofa), muntjac, water buffalo, sika deer (Cervus nippon), extinct species of orangutans (Pongo), gibbons (Hylobates), tigers (Panthera tigris), and the extinct cave hyena (Crocuta ultima). == Relationship with humans ==

Remains of Tapirus augustus are frequently associated with stone tools and human remains in Late Pleistocene cave sites across the species range in southern China and Southeast Asia, which may suggest that they were consumed by people, but there is generally not direct evidence of hunting. Remains of Tapirus augustus alongside those of other animals found in Ma’anshan cave in Guizhou Province, southwest China, in two layers dating to around 55,000 and 31–19,000 years ago respectively, are suggested to have been brought into the cave and butchered by humans. == Extinction ==

Although Tapirus augustus has been suggested to have survived into the Holocene, perhaps as recently as 5,600-4,200 years ago based on indirect associated radiocarbon dates on the bones of other animals and wood, the quality of these dates, like those of other southern Chinese Pleistocene megafauna have been considered questionable, and the youngest reliable dates for Tapirus augustus are considered to date to the Late Pleistocene. At Qingshuiyuan Dadong cave in Guizhou, remains of Tapirus augustus may date as recently as 13–11,000 years ago. ==References==